The Sharpest Lives: Rewrite
by UchiHime
Summary: Harry was raped, he's depressed, pregnant, plus no one understands. Who will save the Boy-Who-Lived from ending his own existance. DMHP
1. Chapters 1 through 3

The Re-write of the first three chapters of my very first HP story, the Sharpest Lives. Enjoy.

* * *

The Sharpest Lives

The portrait of the fat lady opened revealing the Gryffindor common room packed tight with happy, laughing students reveling in the excitement of their victory in the first Quidditch game of the year. The boy stumbled through the portrait hole, his already unruly black hair messier than ever before, his robes were ripped barely concealing his small trembling form, and large frightened green eyes peered out from behind cracked glasses. He had barely taken a step into the room before he collapsed under some unknown pressure and fell to his knees.

Every eye in the room had turned to see who was entering when the portrait hole opened; all the students fell into shocked silence as they watched the boy trembling on the floor. Finally someone spoke up, "Harry?" Hermione Granger said in a low frightened voice, "What happened, Harry, tell me."

Harry Potter looked up into the concerned face of the girl, who was one of his closest friends, his other best friend Ronald Weasley also stepped forward to see what happened to the Boy-Who-Lived. Two large tears rolled down Harry's cheeks, his mouth opened and closed as he tried to force out the words he wished to say, but he couldn't speak. He felt so exposed under the scrutinizing stares off all his housemates.

"Please, Harry, tell me what happened." Hermione said gently. Ron knelt beside him and placed a gentle hand on Harry's shoulder.

Then suddenly Harry didn't care that so many people were watching him anymore. "He-," Harry tried to forced himself to say before a choked sob wracked it's way trough his broken body. "He raped me."

|::-::-x-::-::|

One week later…

Harry entered the Great Hall for breakfast and was immediately greeted by whispers and stares. Word of Harry Potter's broken confession had gotten around faster than one could have thought. Soon the whole school knew of what happened to the poor Gryffindor, the knowledge of which was greeted with a mix of pity and disgust as well as many people making guesses in just who the "He" was in the announcement. Seeing as how after the incident in the common room Harry was immediately rushed to the Hospital Wing without having given the much yearned for details and not seen again, no one knew exactly what had happened.

Harry tried to ignore the looks as he made his way over to his seat at the Gryffindor table, he really didn't want to be there. He wanted to go back up to his room and stay in bed away from everyone for the rest of the day, the rest of the week, the month, the year, he wanted to stay away from people for the rest of eternity. He couldn't handle their stares; it seemed they were judging him. They were all judging him. He was a dirty disgusting boy and they all hated him. He knew they did, because he hated himself.

He hadn't even made it to his seat yet when he realized he wasn't ready to be around so many people, he would never be ready. Not as long as they all stared at him like this. But as he turned to make a quick exit from the Great Hall he slammed into someone standing right behind him and subsequently falling right on his butt. "What's the matter mate?" Ron asked his friend. "You OK?" he reached out a hand to help Harry to his feet but the Potter shrank away from it in fear. "Harry?"

"Sorry," Harry said slowly, realizing how he was acting, this was Ron there was no reason for him to be afraid. "I'm OK." He climbed to his feet; still refusing Ron's help "Let's eat," Harry said heading back towards the Gryffindor table.

The moment he took his place at the table Harry knew this was a mistake. Ron slid into the seat next to Harry, Dean Thomas took the seat on the other side of him, Hermione set across from him with Neville Longbottom at her side, and Seamus Finnegan next to him. The group immediately entered into a conversation about something that Harry wasn't paying attention to; he was too busy trying to calm down his raging emotions. Harry was scared out of his mind. Everyone was too close and too loud. He couldn't breathe or think straight; it felt as though any second now something horrible was going to happen.

"Harry are you alright?" Hermione asked. "You've barely touched you food." Harry heard her words as though through a tunnel; his body had activated its fight or flight instinct and he wanted nothing more to get up and bolt of the room.

"Harry?" Hermione said again placing a hand gently on top of his.

Harry yanked his hand away as though it had been burned and yelled "Don't touch me" at the top of his lungs causing the entirety of the Great Hall turn to stare at him again.

"Harry?" Hermione said, a bit of hurt in her voice.

"I'm sorry, I- uh, I got to go." Not waiting for a reply he jumped out of his seat and made a dash for the exit. This time he had just made it to the door of the Great Hall when he crashed into somebody.

"Hey watch where you're going!" a cruel voice declared. Harry's eye's widened at the sight of Draco Malfoy and he immediately shrank away from the other boy, fear evident in his every movement. "What's the matter with you Potter?" Malfoy asked. "You look as if you're peering death in the face."

Harry said nothing, but retreated farther away from the Slytherin boy that had been his enemy since his first arrival at Hogwarts School nearly six years ago. All the eyes in the Great Hall had turned to watch them.

"Potter?" Draco demanded, his voice snapping Harry out of his moment of fright. Harry dodged around the boy and ran from the Hall as fast as he could not giving thought to the storm of whispers that followed his exit.

|::-::-x-::-::|

"Mister Potter, the Headmaster would like to see you in his office," Professor McGonagall said at the beginning of Harry's Transfiguration class later that day. "Now if you please, I'm sure Miss Granger will fill you in on what you missed during today's lesson."

Harry nodded silently, gathered his things, and headed out of the class, just as he left he heard McGonagall saying, "Mister Weasley that wouldn't happen to be a Sugar Quill would it?" The door swung closed behind Harry and he made his way down the hall.

"Sugar Quill," Harry said once he reached the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office, the stone guardian immediately jumped out of the way the staircase leading to the office was revealed, Harry stepped hesitantly onto the stairs, which began to move and carried him up to the office.

"Ah Mister Potter do come in," Dumbledore greeted. "Have a seat, would you care for a lemon drop?" Harry shook his head, slowly sitting down in the seat across from Dumbledore's desk, not even taking the time to examine the multiple silver instruments decorating the office like he usually did.

Dumbledore sighed. "I'm sure you know why I called you here Harry," he said in a solemn voice, not at all like the cheery one he'd been using just seconds before. "I've put off this conversation for a week now, because Poppy insisted I give you time to cope with the shock of the event, but we can no longer avoid the topic, now can we Harry?"

Harry said nothing, refusing to look up at Dumbledore, staring down at his hands in his lap instead.

"Harry I'm going to need you to tell me exactly what happened to you a week ago, and more importantly who did it."

Harry was silent for a moment before his finally could bring himself to speak, "Nothing." He said slowly. "Nothing happened to me."

"Harry, you and I both know that's a lie," Dumbledore stated. "After what happened in the common room, and the test Madame Pomfrey ran on you, there's no denying you were raped that night."

"No I wasn't," Harry denied. "I was lying, I was faking it."

"There's no way you could fake the injuries found on you. You were loosing blood from a place that would not have been otherwise damage, there bruising around your pelvic and nether regions, not to mention your mental state at the time. Please, Harry, just tell me what happened so that I can help. Who did this to you?"

Harry didn't answer.

Dumbledore sighed. "You do realize I have ways of forcing the truth out of you, right?"

Harry nodded but still didn't speak.

"Alright then, Harry," Dumbledore said after a few minutes of silence, "I realize when things are getting no where. You may leave; if you hurry you may catch the end of your Transfiguration Lesson." Harry stood and left, not looking back.

|::-::-x-::-::|

One month later…

The light of the early morning sun shone trough the small window, illuminating the dorm room of the Gryffindor Sixth Year Boys. Four of the five four poster beds had their curtains drawn back as their occupants got up and ready for another day of lessons. Suddenly the curtains concealing the fifth bed was yanked back and its occupant made a dash for the door only to stop half way there and promptly spill his dinner from the night before all over the floor. The sound of retching filled the room as Harry continued to empty the contents of his stomach, barely managing to remain standing as he did so.

"Harry!" Ron yelled in concern. "Neville go get help. Harry are you OK?" Harry didn't answer as he continued to dry heave onto the floor. "This is the forth day in a row mate; you need to go to the hospital wing."

Harry set back, and wiped his mouth with the handkerchief he'd taken to carrying around as of late. "No," he said, waving his wand to get rid of the mess he'd made, "I'm fine."

"No you're not. You've been doing this every day for four days, that's not fine. Go see Madame Pomfrey."

"No." Harry replied standing and making his way back to his bed.

"Harry."

"No."

"Just go to the nurse."

"No."

"Harry." Ron growled.

Harry opened his mouth to again say no, but instead ended up once again spewing his insides across the floor. Ron stepped back to avoid getting hit by the mess and Harry had to clutch onto his bed to keep himself up. Once he was sure he was done this time he straightened and once again wiped his mouth on the handkerchief. He reached for his wand to clean up the mess, but before he could the vomit vanished. Harry looked to see who had cleaned it for him, expecting to see Ron, but instead he was staring into the hard eyes of Minerva McGonagall.

"Harry Potter, hospital wing. Now." She gave no room for debate.

|::-::-x-::-::|

It had gotten easier for him to be around people. He still didn't like it very much, but Harry was no longer scared out of his mind to sit in a room full of people. He still didn't like to be touched and got nervous if anyone got too close to him. He also still tended to wallow in depression and keep a distance between him and everyone else. And he still avoided Draco Malfoy like the Bubonic Plague. But sitting in the Great Hall was no longer too much of a problem for him.

It seemed he'd been making progress in the month since the rape. Everyone thought he would be over it soon and open up to them; maybe even tell them who had done it.

Everyone was wrong.

"Bloody hell, Harry, I can't deal with this anymore!" Ron yelled at the boy sitting across from him in the Great Hall at dinner time a week after McGonagall had forced him to go to the nurse. "I've tried to be sympathetic and understanding after what happened, but I can't deal with it. All this depression and pushing people away, I can't do it anymore! What the hell is your problem?"

"Ron!" Hermione yelled, trying to silence the boy, but it was too late; Harry had also lost his temper.

"What the hell is my problem?" he yelled, "How about the fact that I was _raped_! Is _that_ big enough of a problem for you? You've tried to be sympathetic you say, tried to be understanding? You don't know what I went through, how the hell could you ever understand? I was raped Ron. That's my problem. Oh yeah, and the cherry on top? I'm fucking _pregnant_!"

Harry suddenly realized he'd yelled this at the top of his lungs and the entire Great Hall had turned to look at him. Harry glared at Ron before turning and running out of the Hall. He could hear Hermione yelling his name after him.

|::-::-x-::-::|

_Harry had been the last the leave the Gryffindor changing rooms after the first Quidditch match of the year. His team had won and was all probably in the common room celebrating by now, but Harry had wanted a few minutes to himself after the game and had put off joining them until now. _

_He was on the third floor heading towards the Gryffindor tower he when he was suddenly grabbed from behind. Harry reached for his wand, but another hand beat him to it and pulled it away. "Don't want you hexing me now do I?" said a low voice. "That'll spoil all of the fun."_

"_Who are you, what's going on?" Harry asked trying to turn to see who his attacker was, only to find himself unable to._

"_All will be revealed soon." The person said, before pulling Harry into an empty classroom and sealing the door with a spell and a silencing charm. The room was dark, and Harry could barely see. "You know you look beautiful like that, all frightened and unsure."_

"_Who are you? What do you want?" Harry asked again._

"_Oh, you'll see." Harry was pushed on top of one of the desk. He felt his legs being yanked apart and someone settled themselves between them. "You truly are beautiful, Harry Potter. Very beautiful indeed." Before Harry could say anything he felt a pair of lips pressing hungrily against his own. Hands were pushing up his robes and roaming across his bare skin. Harry was terrified and with a sudden burst of strength pushed his unknown attacker off of him and ran for the door. A spell was yelled from behind him and he found himself falling to the floor in a full body bind. _

"_I was hoping you would be a willing partner, Harry," The person said, "But I guess that would be asking too much of the Boy-Who-Lived. Oh well, I can still have my fun any way."_

_Harry was yanked to his feet and slammed against a wall. "I'm going to make you feel so good Harry, you have no idea." Harry's robes were ripped off of him and the next thing he knew he was being bent over a desk and excruciating pain was tearing through his body. _

_Harry squeezed his eyes closed as he felt his attacker brutally slamming in and out of him, ripping his tender flesh and using the blood as lubricant for further abuse. Tears rolled down Harry's cheeks and he tried to scream and put up a fight, but found himself unable to. Then something was touched inside of him and Harry thought he was going to be sick. He couldn't believe his own body was betraying him as it found guilty pleasure within this world of pain._

|::-::-x-::-::|

The Astronomy Tower was empty save for one Sixth Year Gryffindor boy who everyone thought was going to be the savior of the Wizarding World. 'Big laugh there', Harry thought bitterly, 'I can't even save myself.'

Harry set on the edge of the highest point in Hogwarts, looking down at ground far below him. Everything was getting to be too much. He couldn't deal with all of this anymore. He was sixteen years old and everyone was expecting him do all these great things, none of that had bothered him before, but now it did, because now he realize he didn't want to save the stupid Wizarding World. This stupid world that was so evil and corrupt with murderers and rapist and friends that didn't understand. This stupid world allowed babies to be orphaned, heroes to be treated like whores, and innocents to be raped and impregnated. This stupid world deserved to burn.

He didn't want to save this world; he didn't want to bring a baby into this world; he didn't even want to live in this world. He didn't want to live at all. He wanted to end it all. And that's why he was sitting on the wall of the Astronomy Tower. He couldn't do this anymore, he had to get away.

He had written a goodbye note. He didn't think it would be fair to just do this without leaving behind some message. So he had written a note. Something simple, just:

_I can't do this anymore. _

_Goodbye,_

_Harry_

He had sent the message the person least likely to do anything about it. Then he had come up to the Astronomy Tower at around sunset, but he had set there for hours and it was well after dark now. There was no more waiting. He was going to end this now.

Harry inched closer to the edge and glanced down again; he was overcome with a sudden wave of vertigo and tightened his grip on the cold stones. After taking a deep breath he inched closer. He closed his eyes and pushed himself over.

"Harry!" Some screamed, but Harry didn't pay any mind. They were too late anyway, he was already gone. Falling almost felt like flying, except he wasn't going to walk away from this flight alive. It was all going to be over soon.

Harry's eyes remained closed as he fell, he knew he was going to hit the ground soon there was no reason to watch its approach. All he had to do was wait. Something wrapped around his wrist and he felt an excruciating pain rip through his arm and shoulder blade. He opened his eyes to see what had happened, and found that someone was holding him in the air by his wrist, just feet from the ground.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that Potter?" A cruel voice snapped at him, as he was lowered the last few feet to the ground and placed gently on his feet.

"Malfoy," Harry hissed, clutching his arm tenderly, "what are you doing here?"

"I think the better question is why the hell did you send me that note. What did you think I was going to do?" Malfoy yelled, landing his broom and storming over to Harry.

"I thought you were going to let me die!" Harry snapped.

"As if, I've already attempted to save your ass once, you think I was just going to put my effort to waste, think again Potter."

"You shouldn't have tried save me the first time and we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"No, if you weren't a freaking idiot we wouldn't be in the situation! Do you really think I like running around playing hero to an ungrateful prat like you? Get over yourself and think again! Its bad enough you got the whole school thinking I was the one who raped you, what with the way you ran away from in the Great Hall like that. Then you send me a damn suicide letter and think I'm just going to sit back and let you die. You are so fucking obtuse it's not even funny anymore. Don't you realize there a people here who care about you and want to help you? Or are you so freaking lost in emo depression 'pity-the-poor-boy-who-was-raped' mode to notice anything? Either way it goes, next time you try to kill yourself, leave me the fuck out of it." Draco turned and stormed away back towards the castle, leaving a confused Harry to stare after him.

"Draco wait!" Harry yelled after him, causing the Slytherin to stop and turn back to him. "I'm sorry," Harry said before falling to his knees and sobbing. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, just don't leave me." Tears flowed down his cheeks in unending waves and clutched his hurt arm protectively to his chest as he sobbed him heart out.

Draco sighed and went to back over to Harry. "Come on Potter, don't cry. Its ok, everything is ok."

Harry looked up at Draco through tear filled eyes. "Draco," he said softly, "Thank you for everything."

"Whatever don't mention it." Draco said. "Let's get you to Madame Pomfrey; I think I dislocated your shoulder."

|::-::-x-::-::|

_Harry collapsed to the floor in a boneless heap. "Well that was fun Harry; we should do this again sometime."_

_Harry's eyes closed as more tears rolled down his cheeks. He heard the spells on the door being removed and knew whoever had done this to him was getting away. But Harry didn't care. He forced himself to open his eyes long enough to catch a last glimpse of his attacker as he exited the room, but then they fell closed again. All he wanted right now was to drift into the darkness calling out to him._

_When he next opened his eyes he was in the Astronomy Tower standing desperately close to the edge, he wasn't sure how he'd gotten there, but the knew why he was there. The drop below him looked long and inviting, now if he only had the strength to haul himself up onto the ledge._

"_Potter is that you?" Harry heard someone call out to him. He opened his eyes having not even realized he closed them. "What the hell happened to you?" Said an all too familiar voice, why of all people had it been Draco Malfoy that found him like this?_

_Draco seemed to take in the situation Harry was in and rushed over to the boy's side. Draco helped Harry away from the ledge and down from the tower, but once they got to the hall he told the boy to wait right there while he went to get help. Harry's eyes followed Malfoy's retreating figure until he disappeared around a corner, then he forced himself up and stumbled to the Gryffindor common room._

Leave Out All the Rest

The doors to the Great Hall swung open onto the usual boisterous crowd of students talking, laughing, and stuffing their mouths with food. Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table laughing along with his friends at some rather out there comment Ron had made. It had been a while since anyone had heard Harry laugh so much and it was a welcome event. Hermione set across the table from him, pretending to be reading _Hogwarts, a History_ for what might be the millionth time, while really just trying to hide the smile spreading across her face at the sight of her dear friend back to his old self. When Harry looked up and met her eyes the two of them smiled at each other and then she turned her eyes down to her book.

"Stop laughing, it's not that funny." Ron said with a pout.

"Oh, but it so is," Dean Thomas said. "Don't you agree Harry?" He asked, forgetting his year mate's former disposition and swinging his arm around Harry's shoulders. It seemed the whole room froze to see how Harry would respond to this, everyone knew that Harry Potter hated to be touched every since the incident. He either shrank away from the touch or completely freaked out.

But this time was different, Harry flinched, but then paid no mind to the arm around his shoulder as he continued to laugh. "I have to agree with Dean on this one, Ron," he said, not ceasing in his merriment, "It's down right hilarious." Any tension that had begun to build evaporated and the laughter of the Gryffindors continued.

"What's so funny Potter?" A voice asked from behind Harry. The Gryffindors turned to see who had approached their table; Hermione, Neville, and Seamus looking at the intruder with a mixed degree of anger and disdain.

Harry's eyes lit up at the sight of Draco standing behind him, "Draco!" he exclaimed, barely keeping himself from getting up and flinging himself into the other boy's arms.

Draco gave a sort of half smile that could easily be confused for a smirk by anyone who wasn't looking closely. "You seem better," He stated.

Harry nodded. "What brings you over here?" He asked shooting a look over at the Slytherin table where Draco's friends didn't seemed too pleased with his detour.

Draco looked over his shoulder following Harry's eyes to his house table, he shrugged, "Madam Pomfrey ordered me to make sure you followed her orders about not having an empty stomach, thought I'll check on you."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Malfoy," Hermione said, "But we're perfectly capable of making sure Harry eats."

Draco didn't give her anything more than a passing glance before turning his attention back to the green eyed boy he's come to see. "So are you following her orders?"

Harry nodded and grinned proudly. "Cleared my plate, plus seconds on the treacle tart."

Malfoy nodded. "Alright, see you around Potter."

"Yeah, see you Draco." Harry couldn't stop himself from watching Draco's progress across the hall to the Slytherin table, a small smile on his face.

"What was that about?" Ron demanded when Harry turned back around to face the group.

"What?" Harry asked feigning ignorance. "Draco was just checking on me, per Madam Pomfrey's orders."

"Draco? Since when are you on first name basis with the Slytherin Prince?"

"We're not? Notice he called me Potter?"

"But you called him Draco," Ron stated, "And when does Malfoy care about rather you eat or not?"

"Maybe since Madam Pomfrey told him to. Or maybe since I got frickin' pregnant?" Harry snapped back. "Since when do I have to answer to you anyway?" He demanded, standing up and glaring at Ron.

"Since you decided to become all buddy-buddy with a nasty Slytherin," Ron stood and yelled back.

"That _nasty Slytherin _as you so kindly put it, happened to have saved my life, twice!" Harry yelled. "If you have a problem with that then sucks to be you." Harry turned and stormed out of the Great Hall, oblivious to all the stares and the Slytherin boy that followed his exit.

|::-::-x-::-::|

Harry stood at the top of the Astronomy Tower looking down of the snow covered grounds of Hogwarts. It was cold out, but he hadn't brought his cloak or anything to keep him warm as he stood up there contemplating the direction things were going.

It had been two weeks since Harry's second attempt at killing himself by jumping off the top of this very tower. One week had passed since he and Ron had argued in the Great Hall over Draco Malfoy. In that time, Ron had approached Harry trying to make things right again, but Harry refused to speak to him, instead choosing to avoid him and go off on his own as much as possible. Except, it seemed, he could never truly be alone. Draco always seemed to show up wherever Harry was. He never said much, offering Harry silent companionship, or on the occasions when it was obvious silence the last thing Harry needed, he entertained him with stories of his childhood, or about his day, of even sometimes he'd tell the Muggle raised boy popular children stories of the Wizarding World.

Harry had grown to enjoy Draco's companionship, and had, unbeknownst to himself, began to rely on him to keep him grounded during these times that were becoming increasingly more difficult for him.

Harry was now about two months pregnant, with a child that he wasn't sure he even wanted seeing as how it was the product of a night he longed with all his might to just forget. No one mentioned Harry's rape much anymore, and it seemed that as Harry slowly returned to the normal life he'd led prior to the event; people began to forget it ever happened. But with a baby on the way, there was no way Harry could ever forget it, nor could he deny it anymore.

He had been raped. He was pregnant. And the person who had done it was…

"Not thinking of jumping again, are you Potter?" A voice that lacked all its former cruelty said from behind him.

Harry turned and smiled teasingly at Draco. "If I was, I know better than to get you involved in it this time."

"Yeah, but my just being here is going to be reason enough to make the whole school think I pushed you."

"Tell them you didn't."

"As if any stubborn Gryffindors would believe that."

"You and I could commit one of those flashy double suicides together," Harry offered. "If you die a long with me, no one would be able to think you did it."

"Maybe, or they might just think I pushed you, freaked out, and then jumped."

"OK, so suicide is out, how about the two of us just run away together."

Draco raised one delicately arched blond eyebrow. "Why would you want to run away with me, Potter?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Draco let out a musical sounding laugh. "Well that'll be the story of the century. I can see the head lines now 'The Boy Who Lived Runs Away with the Son of a Convicted Death Eater', then in the tagline, 'Destined to Live on Love Alone'."

"Who said anything about love? I said let's run away, not let's elope."

"Which brings us back to my question, why would you want to run away with me, Potter?"

"Honestly? You're about the last person in this school I don't hate right now."

"Well that's a laugh, considering up until recently there was no one in this school you hated more than me."

"I never said I hated you. Maybe a strong sense of dislike, but not even that…"

"Then what is it that you do feel Harry?"

Harry looked up and found himself staring into Draco's silver eyes. "I- I don't know," he said, suddenly lose for breath.

"Shall I help you figure it out?" Draco asked, his handsome face looming closer and closer to Harry's. Then suddenly his soft lips were pressed firmly against Harry's own slightly chapped ones. Harry's eyes widened in shock, but he didn't even think of pushing Draco away as he melted into the warm feeling of kissing Draco and being wrapped gently in his arms.

The kiss ended all too soon for Harry and a light blush covered his cheeks as he stared up into Draco's searching eyes. Draco gave the same half smile as before. "Come on; let's get you inside before you catch cold."

|::-::-x-::-::|

Four Months Later…

Harry lay on a bed in the hospital wing, waiting for Madam Pomfrey to come back. He had come in for his annual check up he'd been obligated to have every since he'd learned of his pregnancy, but before Madam Pomfrey could start the check up a group of second year Hufflepuff girls had come in exclaiming as if it was the end of the world over some minor injury one of them had received. Madam Pomfrey had gone to deal with them, leaving Harry alone for a while.

Harry looked down at his rather round, but only slightly protruding stomach. He was now six months pregnant, but really didn't look it much at all. He had gained a healthy amount of weight during his first few months of pregnancy, he'd started showing a little not far into his second month, and he considered himself to be huge during his third month, just because he'd always been on the thin side due to undernourishment during his child hood. But the weight gain had slowed considerably during the fourth month, and now being six months along, he looked no more than three and a half.

This had worried Harry at first, from what he knew about pregnant women, they got bigger and bigger as the pregnancy progressed; he thought he was sick or something was seriously wrong with his baby. Madam Pomfrey had assured him there was nothing to worry about, weight gain was never a major factor in male-pregnancies, and no one ever gained nearly as much weight while pregnant with a healthy baby boy, as they would with a girl. She had recommended he just continued to eat healthy amounts of foods, and never ever go on an empty stomach.

Pregnancy aside, the last four months hadn't been easy on Harry. He had made up with Ron, only to get into another fight with him when Harry and Draco's relationship became public. None of the other Gryffindors or Slytherins had been happy to hear the two of them were together either. It seemed most of the Gryffindors either held old grudges against the Slytherin Prince, or still believed it had been him who raped Harry in the first place. And the Slytherins just didn't like Draco shaming their house by fraternizing with the enemy.

Harry had had to quit the Quidditch team during his second month of pregnancy when it was decided the sport was too dangerous to risk for the baby. It was also decided he had to give up his position as captain to none other than Cormac McLaggen, who had been just overjoyed with that development. And on top of that, Dumbledore was getting on his case more than ever about who had raped him that night.

The worst part of the whole situation had been him having to give up potions, Appartation training, and DADA classes. Apparently the fumes in the potions room could be harmful for the baby, so he was no longer allowed in the room; instead he had book work and essays applying to whatever lesson had been taught that day. Defense Against the Dark Arts was also dubbed dangerous due to the flying spells and an unfortunate incident when he was accidentally hit by a full body bind spell, bringing up unsavory memories, and causing him to have a mental breakdown in front of the whole class. Snape had found that rather entertaining, but Harry was put to book work after that. He wasn't to even think about splinching himself while pregnant, so there went his chance of Apparating.

The only good part of the last four months, had been Draco's constant presence in his life. If anyone asked Harry would deny it for all he was worth, but he couldn't help but admit to himself that he was slowly falling in love with his at-one-time enemy, and he was almost sure Draco felt the same.

Since Harry had been removed from the only class he had with the Slytherin that year, the two of them had to find other opportunities to be together. Usually they spent their break times together, or the snuck away from lunch or dinner. They usually hung out on the Astronomy Tower; it had become one of their favorite places in the school. The time together was spent talking about school, friends, their childhood, or just life in general. They never spoke about the future.

With Harry's due date looming before them, the future was a topic never breached. Harry wondered would Draco still be with him after he had the baby. Since they never discussed it he had no way being sure. What if Draco left him? What if he decided he didn't want to be with someone who had a kid? Would Harry be able to survive on his own? Or had he become too dependent of Draco's support to do anything by himself?

Draco didn't seem to be put off by the fact that Harry was going to have a baby. Often times, when they were sitting on the floor of the Astronomy Tower, he would hold Harry in his arms, while gently and lovingly rubbing his belly. He talked to the baby and even sang to it, in his surprisingly beautiful singing voice. A couple of times he had even fell asleep with his face pressed against Harry's tummy. Harry told himself these were good signs. He told himself it meant Draco would stick around after the baby was born. All he had to rely on were the words he kept telling himself.

Sometimes when he was alone, usually up in his bed in the Sixth Year Gryffindor Boys' dorm room, he would make himself think about the future. He was a sixteen year old wizard raised by wizard hating Muggles who already thought he was enough of a freak, the baby wouldn't be born by the time the school year let out, so would he have to go back to them while still pregnant. He already knew that answer. Yes he would, because Dumbledore would insist that the needed the protection of the magic placed on the Dursley's house, now more than ever since he himself was being weakened by the pregnancy. That was definitely something he would not be looking forward to.

And after the baby was born, what would he do then? Again the fact that he was only sixteen years old and wouldn't be seventeen until it was nearly time to return to the school played a role in the situation. He was still an underage wizard and still had another year to complete at Hogwarts. Would he be able to complete his education while caring for a baby? Money wasn't a real issue if he raised the child in the Wizarding World, he had, after all, inherited both the Potter family and the Black family vaults. He supposed he would have to move to number Twelve Grimmauld Place after the baby was born. That would be cheaper than buying a new house, and as long as it was the Order's Headquarters it would be a safe location for him and his child.

The school year was already drifting to an end and there were still so many questions that he had to answer. How was he going to do this?

"Well Mister Potter, lets get started shall we," Madam Pomfrey said as she approached his bed. "You know the routine, I'm going to cast a few spells to check both your health and the health of the baby, and then afterward you'll get to see the little guy. You just sit back, relax, and don't move."

Harry nodded and Madam Pomfrey began her exam. She waved her wand over Harry, occasionally asking him questions about his eating habits and such. "Alright then," she said once she was done, "Everything seems to be in order, you ready to see the little guy?" Harry nodded and she cast a spell that made a black and white projection of the insides of Harry stomach appear above the bed, just like a Muggle ultrasound machine. "Let's see, there's his head, and his little fist, and there's a foot. Congratulations, Potter, he seems to be all there."

Harry looked at the sonogram as Madam Pomfrey pointed out the different parts, all worries he had been previously entertaining melted away, and he couldn't help but smile. He was going to be a father.

|::-::-x-::-::|

"Harry," Draco said softly. The two of them were sitting on the floor of the Astronomy Tower, Draco leaning against the wall, Harry sitting between his legs and leaning against his chest, they both had their right hands resting on Harry's pregnant belly, their lefts hands entwined with each others at their side, "what's to become of us?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, he was tired and had begun to drift to sleep until Draco spoke.

"I mean, the end of the school year just around the corner, soon we'll be parting ways, me to go back to my mother at Malfoy Manor, and you to return to those dreadful Muggles. What's going to happen to _us _once we part?"

"Who says something has to happen to us? Can't we just pause where we are, go our separate ways, and pick up where we left off when we come back?"

"Things will be different when we come back," Draco stated. "For one, this little guy will be here demanding our attention. And then there's the fact that I…"

"I guess even if we could pause what we have now, the rest of the world would go on and alter everything." Harry said when he realized Draco wasn't going to finish his sentence. Silence dragged between them for a while.

"Remember when you said that you and I should run away together?" Draco finally said, once Harry confirmed that he remembered he asked, "Is that option still available?"

"Do you really want to be front page news that bad?" Harry teased. "'Boy Who Lived Elopes with Son of Convicted Death Eater' remember?"

"And then in the tag line, 'Destined to Live on Love Alone'." Draco smiled.

"Who said anything about love? We're just running away remember?"

"You're the one who said 'elopes' my original headline said 'runs away with'. Which brings back up the question, why would you want to run away with me, Potter?"

"You're the one who offered this time; shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?"

"I think you know my reasons."

"And you know mine."

_Silence returned. Both of them were content to leave the conversation the way it was. They both knew their reason, but neither would say it._

Pain

Platform Nine and Three Quarters was packed with Hogwarts students finally heading home for summer vacation. Everyone waved and hugged their friends good-bye, promising to owl or get together over the summer, but one boy stood back all alone, looking slightly afraid. Harry watched as Ron, Ginny, and Hermione was greeted by Molly and Arthur Weasley, being welcomed with smiles and warm hugs. They all seemed so happy to see each other and Molly was ecstatic to have her family home.

Harry couldn't help but feel a little left out.

Two weeks before the end of the term Harry and Ron had revived their dieing friendship. Ron had apologized for being a prat about the whole 'dating a bloody Slytherin' thing and had promised to be more understanding in the future. Harry in turn had cried his eyes out and embraced Ron, saying he was so glad that the Weasley didn't hate him anymore. Of course the whole situation was blamed on the pregnancy hormones and was quickly forgotten, but the last two weeks of school had gone on as if Harry and Ron had never fought in the first place. Hermione was delighted that the two of them were friends again, because she had missed being a part of the Gryffindor Golden Trio.

Yet, with everything once again fine between them, Harry still didn't feel as if he had the right to encroach on the family reunion and felt as if he didn't belong there. He no longer felt welcomed in the Weasley family. He had lost his place in the Weasley home when…

"Harry, are you just going to stand back there or are you going to give me a hug?"

Harry looked up at Molly Weasley who was standing in front of him, hands on her hips, a scowl on her face. The scowl quickly melted into he warm loving smile that she always showed him, before she pulled him into a tight embrace. "How are you, Hun?" she asked. "I've been worried sick."

Harry smiled, trying to keep the hormone induced tears out of his eyes as he was held in those warm motherly arms, he felt so safe. "I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley, no need to worry."

"I'm a mother; it's my job to worry Harry." Molly said releasing the boy from her arms and looking him over. "You'll know what I mean soon." Harry unconsciously placed a hand on top of his round stomach. He felt something moving around beneath the pregnant bulge and couldn't help but smile; he would know what she meant soon.

"Come on Molly, Harry," Mr. Weasley called out. "We've got to get going. Welcome back Harry." He shook the boy's hand before herding them all through the barrier of Platform Nine and Three Quarters and up onto the Muggle part of King's Cross Station.

Harry stepped through the barrier after Ron and Hermione and nearly slammed right into the two of them, who had frozen in place on the other side of the barrier. "What's going on?" Harry asked stepping around them to see why they had stopped; a huge, rather childish, grin spread across his face. "Draco!"

Draco Malfoy smiled as Harry all but ran into his arms. "Hey Love," he said, "I just wanted to see you before we parted ways."

"I'm going to miss you," Harry said, completely forgetting that the Weasleys and Hermione were watching this exchange.

"I'm going to miss you too, Love." Draco smiled. "I'll miss this little guy as well." Harry grinned as he looked down at his pregnant belly. He and Draco had decided against running away together, neither of them had been seriously considering the idea in the first place, it had only been brought up as a much more delightful option to dealing with their problems. Problems both boys knew that they would never be able to run away from regardless of what actions they took. The only real option they had was to go with the flow of things, and at that the moment the flow of things called for them to separate for the summer.

"Will you owl me?" Harry asked in a near pleading tone, he had become so dependent on Draco's presence he doubted his ability to survive if forced to cut off all contact with him.

"As much a possible," Draco promised holding Harry gently in his arms. "If things get too bad I'll even come and rescue you from those dreadful Muggles."

"Promise?"

"I'll be there whenever you need me, promise."

Harry's emerald green eyes stared searchingly up into Draco's silver ones. He smiled when he found whatever it was he was looking for, and acting a little boldly, he leaned in and pressed their lips together. It was a sweet sort of kiss, one for fairy tales and romance novels and it ended all too soon. "Take care of yourself, Draco." Harry said.

"You too Harry," Draco replied, "And the little guy as well." He pressed their lips together in another chaste kiss before pulling back and walking away.

Harry watched silently as Draco's retreating figure disappeared into the crowd.

"Ready to go, Harry?" Someone asked, reminding Harry exactly where he was and who he was with. Harry blushed as he turned to look at the Weasleys only to find that while he had been so wrapped up in Draco Lupin, Tonks, Fred, George, and Moody had joined the group.

"What are you all doing here?" he demanded; embarrassed that so many members of the Order had just witnessed his parting with Draco.

"Escorting you back to Privet Drive," Lupin stated.

"And watching you make out with my cousin.," Tonks threw in. "I can't say I blame you for your taste; I've always thought the Malfoys were a very delectable bunch." She grinned approvingly. Harry noticed that she was back to her usually happy go lucky self, complete with bubble gum pink hair and all. He wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that she and Remus were currently holding hands.

"Well I disagree," George said.

"Couldn't you have chosen someone," Fred paused.

"That isn't a future Death Eater." George finished for him.

Harry glared at the two of them. "Draco isn't like that," He stated threateningly. "And if you ever call him that again I swear I'll personally make sure the chances of future generations to take over Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are slim to none."

"Alright then," Fred said, covering his 'tenders', "that said, shall we be going?"

"I don't see why I need an entire escort to walk me to the parking lot." Harry inquired.

"That's because we're not taking you to the parking lot," Moody spoke up, "We'll be escorting you all the way back to number four Privet Drive, and having a discussion with your aunt and uncle explaining current situations to them while we're there."

|::-::-x-::-::|

"NO! Absolutely not!" Vernon Dursley's face was turning an unhealthy shade of purple as he yelled at his visitors. "Take the little slut back with you. I will not have him in my house!"

"Now that's not really appropriate."

"I don't care if it's appropriate. I'm speaking the truth. Take him away from here, now!"

"Unfortunately Dumbledore is dead set on having Harry here this summer, and as far as I've heard, you've already agreed to house him." Arthur said politely.

"I told that Dumbledore fellow that Harry could stay here for this last summer, but that was BEFORE he came here pregnant. I will not have that slut in my house."

"That _slut_ is in this room and I don't appreciate you talking about me like I'm not," Harry growled. "And for the record, I don't want to be here anymore than you want me here. But I don't really have a choice do I?"

"You had a choice before you went spreading your legs for every Tom, Rick, or Jerry! How about you go and stay with whomever it was who knocked you up in the first!"

Silence fell over the room until the loud sound of shattering glass filled the brief second of quiet. A wave of raw energy poured from Harry as he glared menacingly at his uncle. "Stop talking as if you know everything, 'cause you don't know shit. You have no idea what I've been through this year, so shut your big fat mouth before I shut it for you!" Harry tried to launch himself at his uncle with all intent to kill him, but found himself being held back by Lupin.

"Let me go Remus!" He demanded.

"Not until you calm down Harry," the werewolf replied. "This isn't helping the situation at all. Plus the stress can harm the baby."

Harry immediately calmed, thoughts of causing harm to his child pushing all the anger from his mind. He didn't know what he would do if something happened to his baby.

Vernon Dursley glared at he nephew. "If this is how you're going to be acting I definitely don't want you here."

"Unfortunately you don't have a choice in that matter. Harry is staying. End of discussion, or would you rather take the argument up with me." Moody glared at Vernon, his magical eye seeming to bore into the man's very skull.

Vernon let out a defeated sigh and Harry knew he was in for a long summer.

|::-::-x-::-::|

_A loud scream ricocheted through his head as he was pressed against the desk and forcefully entered. Harry dug his fingernails into the wood, holding on for all dear life, trying to will the pain away, trying to will his body to stop responding to the pleasure laced within it, or at least will himself to die so as to end it all and never have to face the shame. _

_A hand wrapped around him and gripped his erection, fisting it and pumping in time with the brutal thrust. A familiar voice moaned his name, called him tight and beautiful, whispered lies of love and devotion._

"_Only you, Harry," The voice said, "I love only you and in turn you should love only me, too." He thrust exceptionally hard, slamming against Harry's prostate and shooting a wave a sheer torturous pleasure through him. "Love me Harry," the familiar voice demanded, "love me." _

_To Harry it almost sounded as if he was begging, pleading for the boy's love, while forcefully stealing his virginity._

_Before Harry had time to process the thought another hard thrust sent another loud scream reverberating through his skull._

|::-::-x-::-::|

Harry staggered into the Dursley's kitchen after a restless night of sleep. He had been haunted with nightmares of the event he just could never seem to forget, so he had woken up and began writing a letter to Draco to take his mind off of things, only to fall asleep in the middle of writing and once again be faced with the nightmares. He had finally been able to reach a peaceful slumber in the early morning hours following the sunrise, but had woken not much later because of a sudden need for food.

The Dursleys watched him enter the kitchen, looks of loathing on their faces. Harry was sure they had heard him screaming during his nightmares, but they hadn't come to his aid. He sighed, they probably wished he had died during the night then he would no longer be their problem.

It had been about three weeks since Harry had come to stay with the Dursleys and to his surprise things weren't as bad as he thought they would be. Instead of yelling at and purposely neglecting him like they had done the previous years he had stayed with them, they had chosen to simply ignore his existence all together. They didn't talk to him, and only looked at him on occasions such as this when he entered the room late at random time. They no longer starved him either. Seeing as how he was eating for two, they made sure he had proper meals, sometimes giving him bigger servings than Dudley and turning a blind eye when food went missing for Harry's midnight snakes. They had also forbidden Dudley to beat him up. They knew that if anything happened to Harry that caused harm to his baby there would be all hell to pay.

Of course there were worst things that could happen to him other than being ignored by his relatives. Harry was just glad that none of those things _were_ happening. And on the plus side, in a week's time he would be leaving the Dursley resident permanently.

He was now well into his third trimester of pregnancy and required constant medical supervision, since he couldn't well go to a Muggle doctor for prenatal care, it had been decided that he would stay with the Weasleys for the remainder of the pregnancy. Dumbledore insisted that his stay with the Dursleys lasted for at least a month, but would not force him to stay longer, and Harry had to be glad for that. Though they weren't abusing him anymore, Harry still felt unloved and unwanted by the Dursleys and his overactive hormones couldn't take it. There had been many a night when he cried himself to sleep just because he needed a hug that he knew he would never receive as long as he stayed there.

Those nights always seemed to fall on the days he received a latter from Draco. Harry missed Draco dearly and was waiting longingly for the time he would get to see the blond again. He felt dreadfully lonely without Draco's constant presence, and though the Malfoy wrote often just as he promised, the words on the page was never as reassuring as having Draco physically there would have. Draco constantly reminded Harry that they would be seeing each other soon and that he should worry, but Harry still suffered from his absence.

"Mum, how did Harry get pregnant if he's a boy?" The question broke the silence that had fallen over the breakfast table, abruptly pulling Harry from his thoughts.

"Well, Dudders, you see…" Petunia Dursley searched for a way to explain the situation to her precious whale of a son.

"He's a freak, that's how," Vernon Dursley said, not bothering to look up from his newspaper. "He's a freak and a slut, who's willing to open his legs for anyone at that freak school of his, and no one gives a damn."

"Vernon," Petunia said, trying to warn her husband away from the topic, considering how Harry had reacted last time he's been called a slut.

Vernon Dursley did not care. "What Petunia? Do you not want me calling your nephew the whore that he is? It's his own fault for bringing his freak world into our house as if he had right to. The ungrateful little bastard; if he was freaking up the duff I'd show him what's what. Stupid Jezebel needs to learn to keep his legs closed."

A loud thud sounded through the kitchen and everyone turned to face Harry, who had just slammed his fist down on the hard wood table. Harry's head was bowed, and his unruly mesh of black hair hid his eyes from view. He stood from his seat, trembling with suppressed emotions.

"What's the matter boy? Struck a nerve did I? Thinking of attacking me again is you? Just because I speak the truth? You're nothing but a dirty little slut, a filthy whore, and a nasty Jezebel, just like your freak of a mother. I can't wait until you and that bastard child are out of my house."

Harry said nothing, still trembling as his uncle continued to bad mouth him. "Are you quite done?" He asked once the man stopped speaking, when he received no answer he continued, "Then I'd like to be excused." He took a step towards the door, but before he exited he paused and said, "You can say whatever you like about me, I daresay I'm used to it, but if you ever speak ill of my mother or my baby again trust that nothing and no one will stop me from making your life a living nightmare." That said he made his exit. As Harry slowly ascended the stairs to his room, he reminded himself that he was only here for a little longer. "Just one more week," he whispered softly.

|::-::-x-::-::|

The door to the Burrow swung open, revealing the full house of people waiting patiently for the guest of honor's arrival. The living room was decorated in pink and blue streamers, and animated toy storks flew around the area. "Surprise!" a chorus of voices screamed when Harry entered the house, a camera flashed as well.

Harry looked at the gathering in shock. "What's going on?" He asked quietly, wondering why so many people had gathered to greet his arrival to the Weasley's house and why they all looked so cheery.

"We're throwing you a surprise Baby Shower!" Ron said from his spot by the snack table, already feeling his mouth with finger sandwiches.

"It was Hermione's idea." Fred added; he was holding the camera that had just flashed in Harry's face.

"Come on, we've got another surprise for you as well." Mrs. Weasley ushered the boy fully into the room.

"Another surprise?" He asked hesitantly stepping into the midst of the gathered people; it seemed everyone he knew was there, from Hannah Abbot, to the only Slytherin supportive of his and Draco's relationship Blaise Zabini. "You're throwing me a party, what bigger surprise can there be than that."

"I don't know Potter, I can think of a few things." A voice said from behind him with feigned disinterested cruelty.

Harry turned around and smiled like a kid you'd just been given a new ten speed bike for Christmas. "Draco!" He practically squealed, launching himself into the Malfoy heir's arms.

"Surprise," Draco said softly hugging the boy lovingly, "I've missed you."

Harry said nothing as he gripped on to Draco for all dear life, never wanting to let go; feeling completely safe on the Malfoy's arms.

|::-::-x-::-::|

"_Love me, Harry," the voiced demanded, "Love me." _

_Harry screamed as another wave of pain shot through his body, his nails digging into the wood of the desk. The voice continued it's declarations of love and its pleading to be loved in return. Harry tried to push the words from his mind, tried to drown out the voice in his ears with his screams. He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to hear those words or the oh so familiar voice saying them._

_Harry wanted to die._

|::-::-x-::-::|

Harry was having a panic attack. His heart was pounding, his breath coming in pants, his vision tunneling. He couldn't breathe. He was going to die, he couldn't breathe. Oh God, he was going to die, and his baby was going to die and all because he couldn't get oxygen to his brain.

He was trembling. His body had broken out in a cold sweat and he couldn't stop himself from shaking. He tried to make himself take a steady breath. Maybe he could calm down if he could just get oxygen to his brain.

The room was too crowded. Everyone was too loud. People were too close to him. He wanted to scream. He wanted to run a way. He wanted to breathe. He needed to get oxygen to his brain.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he recalled someone telling him that everyone dies of the same thing, lack of oxygen to the brain.

"Harry?" a familiar voice said. "Hey mate, are you ok?" A hand landed on his shoulder and a face stared into his own. "Harry?"

Harry opened his mouth and screamed. And screamed. And screamed.

The piercing high pitch wail cut through the room like a siren. "Harry!" Ron yelled, shaking Harry's shoulder, trying to snap the boy out of it. "Harry, calm down, stop screaming."

"_Stop screaming." The familiar voice had said, "No one can hear you anyway, so save your breath." _

Harry's scream grew louder and the tore himself away from Ron's hand. "Don't touch me!" he yelled, "Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me." He collapsed to his knees and sobbed.

"Harry, mate?" Ron said hesitantly, kneeling to place a hand on Harry's shoulder again, only to have Harry scuttle away from him as if he was the grim reaper himself and once again start screaming.

"Damn it, Weasel, can't you see he doesn't want you touching him." Draco yelled, he had been summoned to the room by the sounds of Harry's high pitched cries. "Harry, Love," Draco said in a soft caring voice, "Harry Love, stop screaming and calm down. Look at me, okay. Stop screaming. I'm not going to hurt you."

Harry's screams silenced as he stared into grey eyes like pools of liquid silver. They looked so warm, so kind, so loving, Harry didn't feel afraid anymore. "Draco," He said in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah, Harry, it's me. You don't need to be scared anymore."

"Draco," Harry said again, before throwing himself into the Slytherin's arms and sobbing his eyes out.

|::-::-x-::-::|

No one talked about Harry's little breakdown as he entered into his final month of pregnancy. Well at least they didn't talk about it around him. While he wasn't around they would talk, Harry knew that they would. The wind carried with it their whispered secrets.

After his panic attack, Harry had latched on the Draco like a life line. The Malfoy had been staying with him at the Weasley's since the baby shower, but they hadn't exactly spent every moment together, each of them going about their separate business. But now Harry couldn't bring himself to be more than three feet from his aristocratic love. Any farther and Harry would go back into panic mode and suffocate. He only felt safe with Draco, without him Harry couldn't breathe.

Harry had also taken to avoiding Ron. Every since he had yelled at the boy not to touch him during his panic attack, Harry couldn't bring himself to be around him anymore. Ron was still his best friend, but Harry couldn't stand the sight of him.

The Weasleys didn't know what to do. Harry was kind of skittish around them, but didn't avoid them like he did Ron. He acted like a frightened rabbit, afraid of its own shadow. Mrs. Weasley went out of her way to make Harry open up to them like he had before, but her efforts were for naught. The only time the old Harry was ever seen was when he thought himself to be alone with Draco. Only then did Harry ever smile.

As the baby's due date loomed closer and closer, Harry latched onto Draco more and more, and pushed the Weasleys farther and farther away.

|::-::-x-::-::|

Excruciating pain ripped through Harry's stomach and lower back. He cried out and tried to keep himself from arching off the bed as the pain persisted for a few moments before ceasing.

"Can't you give him anything for the pain?" Draco demanded, standing at Harry's beside and clutching his hands.

"Nothing that won't hurt the baby." The medi-witch replied. "He's going to have to bare with for just a few more minutes so we can make the incision for the cesarean section. We've numbed the area as best we can."

Harry cried out as another wave of pain split through his body. "It's ok, Harry." Draco tried to reassure him, "it'll be over soon."

Harry nodded and let his eyes fall closed as he panted for breath.

"We're almost done," the medi-witch said, "He's coming out now." A few seconds later a loud scream pierced through the room. "Aw, look at him, a healthy baby boy." The medi-witch exclaimed, "And he's got a healthy set of lungs on him." She handed the baby off to one of the other healers to clean and turned back the Harry. "Well Mister Potter, you did a great job. Give us a minute to patch you up and you'll get to hold your beautiful son."

|::-::-x-::-::|

_Harry forced his eyes open as he watched his attacker leave the room. The light from the hallway momentarily poured into the dark class room allowing Harry to see who had done this to him. Strands of mused red hair caught the light and blue eyes glinted blankly as the door was pulled haphazardly closed. _

_Harry's eyes fell closed as he gave in to the darkness calling him. His last thought at he fell into the dark abyss of unconsciousness was that he couldn't possible hold this against Ron, when the boy hadn't been in control of his own actions._


	2. Chapters 4 through 6

UchiSays: Welcome to chapters 4-6 of TSL. Thank you to all my reviewers. There will be one more set of 3 chapters.

* * *

What's Left of Me

Bright fluorescent light illuminated the small room and broke through the surface of the still water. Seconds ticked by at a snail's pace, each one burning more than the last. The water shimmered in the light, moving in its ever going fluid motion, but unable to escape it's container.

A baby's loud scream pierced the silence.

As the seconds went by, the scream grew louder until it cut through to the depths of the water, filling the space below the surface. Harry Potter pushed himself out of the tepid bathtub with a loud gasp as his burning lungs filled themselves with air. He gripped on to the edge of the tub with his pale white fingers as he panted and gasped, finally succeeding in getting oxygen to his brain.

The baby's scream continued.

In quick clumsy movements, Harry climbed out of the tub and wrapped a towel around his waist, rushing down the hall without even taking the time to dry himself properly. He pushed the bedroom door open and rushed over to the bed where his three month old baby boy was wailing.

Grabbing a bottle off the end table as he passed it, Harry knelt beside the bed. "What's wrong, baby?" He asked silently, "Are you hungry?" Harry's own luminescent green eyes stared up at him beneath a mess of bright red hair, the baby's chubby cheeks were red and its face screwed up in its angry cry.

Harry sighed, and scooped the baby into his arms. "Hush, hush, don't you cry. Daddy's here."

The baby's cries began to settle as his daddy rocked him gently back forward, carrying him out of the room and down the hall into the small kitchen. Never putting his son down, Harry filled the bottle he'd grabbed earlier with water and mixed in some baby formula. He put it in the microwave to warm, taking it out after only a short while, checked the temperature against his wrist, and began to feed it to his son.

"There, isn't that better," Harry said softly as the boy suckled on the bottle. He carried him back to the bedroom and laid him down on the bed before going about dressing himself. By the time he'd finished dressing, the baby had gone back to sleep.

Harry placed a blanket over his son, and adjusted the stack of pillows between him and the edge of the bed. He hadn't been able to afford a crib, so had had to improvise with his baby's protection. He guessed it would have been easier to use a charm to make sure the baby didn't roll out of the bed, but Harry had forgotten his wand at the Burrow three months ago when he had went into labor and had never returned to get it.

Instead he had went straight from the paternity ward of St. Mungo's into the streets of Muggle London, with his baby boy sleeping in his arms. From there he just seemed to disappear. No one in the Wizarding world held the slightest idea of where he might be, and he planned to keep it that way. He now resided at a small two bedroom house in the midst of the Muggle world, with no one but his son at his side.

They didn't have much money or anything. Harry had to be the sole provider for his small family and thus had to get a job and leave his baby with the only 'person' he trusted to watch. Dobby the house elf was Harry's last remaining tie to the wizarding world. Harry had desperately needed a job, but no one was willing to hire a barely even seventeen year old boy, that looked like a runaway, lagging around a new born baby. So as a last resort he had called the house elf to play babysitter and had forbidden Dobby to speak of it, or Harry's location, to anyone. As a result of not having to carry his son everywhere he went, Harry was able to get a minimal wage job at a fast-food restaurant and made enough for formula, diapers, and rent every month.

Harry set on the floor by the bed, watching his son still suckling to bottle even in his sleep. He was a beautiful child, with his father's fiery hair and Harry's own gemstone eyes. He was tiny, small and fragile, and Harry feared hurting him more than anything else. This was his child, his responsibility. The only blood relative he had that mattered and Harry vowed to give the baby a better life than he'd had.

The baby yawned and wiggled in its sleep. Harry couldn't help but smile; this was his baby, his little Ian Roonil Sirius Dray Potter.

::-::-::

The waiting room of the free clinic didn't have to same sterile feel as the one in an actual hospital did. For some reason Harry was grateful for that. The sterilized bleached whiteness of hospitals had always unnerved him, it had just some how rubbed him wrong.

Harry set in one of the mismatched vinyl chairs of the waiting room, Ian in his arms sucking on a pacifier. There was only a few other people in the waiting room; a mother with her five year old twin daughters, one of which was running around the room like a bunny on steroids while the other stuck close to the mother's side looking a bit feverish, and a man with a medical mask over his mouth and nose who was often subject to coughing fits.

Harry had been in the waiting room for about half an hour now, and was sure he would be called back to see the doctor soon. As if the thought had summoned her, a nurse pushed open the door that led to the examine rooms, a clip board in her hands. "Potter?" She called out questioningly. Harry raised his hand, and adjusted his hold on Ian, before standing, grabbing his diaper bag, and following her. "Second door on the left, the green room. A nurse will be with you soon," She instructed, Harry nodded and made his way to the assigned room.

Five minutes later a woman in light purple scrubs entered the room. She was kind looking, young and tall, slim with café au lait skin and dark hair pulled into a pony tail at the nape of her neck. She smiled when she entered. "Sorry for the wait," she said, "I'm Lily; I'll be your nurse today."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle. "My mother's name was Lily." He explained when the nurse looked at him curiously.

"Oh," she chuckled, "I suppose it's a pretty popular name." She gave a warm friendly smile. "Well, Mr. Potter, son of Lily, what brings you here today?"

"It's time for Ian's three month check up." Harry explained.

"Those are usually done at the hospital where the baby was delivered." Lily inquired.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know where that is. Will there be a problem if he doesn't go there?"

"No not at all." Lily smiled. "Lets have a look at the little guy."

Harry handed the baby over to her and she began the examination. "He has a weak immune system," Harry stated before Lily could ask.

Lily looked over at him curiously. "Why do you say that?"

"His mother was unable to breast feed, so his immune system is naturally weaker, maybe more so because of the stress during pregnancy." Harry had been reading a lot of books from the public library about caring for newborns and that had come up a couple of times. "I've made sure to get him formula's with immune system boosters, but I read that that's really no substitute for breast feeding."

Lily nodded. "Why couldn't the mother breastfeed?"

Harry hadn't been prepared to answer this question and hesitated before responding, "There were complicated circumstances."

Lily raised one finely arched eyebrow. "Like running away from St. Mungo's before the proper potions could be distributed?"

Harry blanched, how had she known?

A low giggle escaped from Lily. "No worries Harry," she assured him, "I'm not going to broadcast to the Wizarding World that I saw you here. Your secret's safe with me."

"But, how, why?" Harry didn't know what to say.

"I'm a medi-witch, Harry," Lily explained, "I work here instead of St. Mungo's because I feel I have more to offer to Muggles in need. Everyone in the Wizarding World has been wondering about your disappearance three months ago. I can't really say I blame you for running away. Everyone is expecting you to be this big savior of the wizarding world and every thing, but you're just a seventeen year old boy with a kid to raise. Who is perfectly healthy by the way, you're doing a great job. I understand you want to raise your son away from all that, away from the danger he'd be in just for being important to you. I would do the same thing in your shoes. Just know you don't have to go it alone. If no one else, I'm here for you."

Harry smiled, trying to hold back tears as Lily handed him his son. "Thank you," he said softly.

"No worries, you can come to me if you need anything. And to be on the safe side, if you like I could bring you some of those immune system potions for the little guy. Just leave me your address."

Harry nodded and Lily pulled him into a hug. "Believe it or not, despite you disappearance; most of us still support you no matter what."

::-::-::

Harry set on the floor of his living room silently staring at the papers spread out before him. He hadn't been able to afford living room furniture and thus the only thing in the room was a small lamp he'd taken from the bedroom. Ian was asleep. Lily had dropped by and had cast the charm on the bed to keep him from falling. Before leaving she had given Harry the potions she had promised along with a stack of old newspapers.

He set with his back pressed against the wall with the old Daily Prophets spread out around him. The oldest one dated back to a week after he had left the wizarding world. The headline read: **The Boy Who Disappeared**, and the in smaller type it said, "Where has Harry Potter Gone?" The next one was dated a week after that, **Where'd You Go? **"The Search for Potter Continues." The one that caught Harry's eye read, **Secrets Revealed. **"The Weasley's Role in the Potter Mystery" He briefly skimmed this article:

"_One month after the Boy-Who-Lived vanished from the Wizarding World; an anonymous source stepped forward and revealed what they knew of Potter's disappearance. It seems our little hero had been keeping secrets about what was going on during his sixth year at Hogwarts School._

_Our source tells us that it was common knowledge among the staff and students alike that our little hero had been raped and impregnated during him stay at the school. A powerful charm cast by the headmaster kept word of this from leaking to the press, but the charm wore off the Potter gave birth. Still no one had desired to speak up on this issue until now. _

_It seems that just a week before his disappearance Harry Potter gave birth to a baby boy at St. Mungo's. The baby is claimed to have been fathered by none other than Ronald Weasley, Potter's long time best friend._

_Ronald was unavailable for questioning, but his father, Ministry worker Arthur Weasley, had this to say, 'I assure you, no one in my family would ever do anything to intentionally hurt Harry. He's like an adopted member of the family and we all love him very much and just want him to come back.'"_

Harry had stopped reading after this.

After that there were only a few more headlines regarding him while most of the other's switched matters concerning Voldemort and Death Eaters movement. The death toll of the war was constantly on the rise, and big changes were happening throughout the Wizarding World. Voldemort had led another failed attempt at capturing the Ministry; Dumbledore had stopped him but in the process had been gravely injured. There were high numbers of werewolf attacks and it seemed the whole of the Wizarding World was waiting for Harry's return. The most recent issue of the Prophet had the Headline: **Have We Lost Hope? **"Has the World's Hope Disappeared with Potter?" The entire issue was letters sent in by readers, all addressed to Harry, pleading for his return.

Harry nearly cried when he read it. They were all depending on him, and here he was tucked safely away from it all. Harry had read every letter with tears in his eyes, but the tears didn't fall until he read the last one:

_Harry,_

_I'm not going to plead for your return like the rest of these saps. You know that's not my style. I'm just going to remind you that we were suppose to be in those headlines together. What happened to us being 'Destined to Live on Love Alone'? Who's going to be there to catch you the next time you jump? Don't make me miss you; I'll never let you fall. You still know my reason. _

_D._

Tears spilled down Harry's cheeks, and he couldn't fight the pain in his chest. It was just like back at the Weasley's. He was too far away from Draco, and now he couldn't breathe.

::-::-::

It was a little sidewalk café that Harry met Lily at the next week. It was the busiest time of day and they barely managed to find a table. Harry set with Ian on his lap, sipping a cup of coffee, while the baby sucked his pacifier. Lily set across from him in a pair of light blue scrubs decorated with balloons. She was constantly adding large amounts of sugar to her own coffee, sipping it, and then adding more sugar.

"So what are you going to do?" She asked, stirring another three packets of sugar into the cup.

Harry had been glancing around the crowd surrounding them and had to turn back to face her before answering. "I don't know," he said honestly, "I can't go back."

"I'm not trying to make you go back."

"No, you're trying to guilt me into going back."

Lily didn't look up from stirring her coffee.

"Are things really that bad?"

"We've all lost hope without you. Well most of us at least. Things are hard on everyone. I just lost my little brother to a werewolf attack; he was only seven years old. My parents have gone into hiding under the fidelus charm; I don't know where they're at. A friend of mine died protecting a group of Muggles from a Death Eater attack; her husband went and became a Death Eater after that. Another friend of mine just hasn't been quite the same since you left. There's word that they'll be closing Hogwarts this year, because of Dumbledore being hurt. There's a rumor Voldemort is going to make another move on the Ministry while he's still down. People don't feel safe in their own homes. They don't want to fight anymore, they're thinking of just giving in. Back when you were around you were a symbol of hope for everyone, without you that hope was lost and there's hardly a point to resist anymore."

"I can't go back."

"I'm not trying to make you go back. I'm jut saying that we miss you."

"I miss you."

Harry froze at the sound of that familiar voice. He turned around and was looking into eyes like pools of liquid silver. "Draco."

"How dare you just up and leave me like that," Malfoy growled. "You have no idea what I've been through these last three months. You have no idea how I've been feeling."

"Draco," Harry said again.

"You sound like a broken record Potter, can't you say anything else?"

Harry could do nothing but stare. "But, how, why?" He couldn't form a complete thought.

Draco scowled. "If you must know, Lily is a good friend of mine. She invited me."

Harry turned back around to find that Lily had disappeared. "Where'd she go?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I think the better question is: why the hell are you sitting in a sidewalk café drinking coffee with nuisances, while the entire Wizarding World is in an upheaval over your disappearance? Better question than that is: how dare you runaway like that, without so much as a good bye Draco, have a good life?"

"Draco, I-"

"I don't want to hear your excuses," Draco cut in, "After I stayed by your side all that time, after I caught you when you jumped, after I talked to you when you were sad, I hugged when you needed a hug, and held your hand while you were in labor, after all I did for you, you just up and left me. There is no excuse you could give that would make up for that."

Harry could see Draco was trembling trying to rein in his emotions. His eyes swirled with a mix of anger, pain, relief, and sadness. He seemed so fragile, more human than he had ever seemed before.

"I missed you too, Draco." Harry said softly.

Draco snapped. "If you missed me then why the bloody hell did you leave? And why fuck didn't you come back? Why didn't you even bother writing me? One letter Harry! One bloody letter would have been all it took! Was I not worth your time?" His voice cracked, "Was I not worth the love I gave you? The sacrifices I made for you? I was nearly killed by the Dark Lord because I you. My mother was killed, and my father will be. All because of you! So don't you dare say you missed me, because if you did you never would have left."

"Draco, I-"at that moment Ian started to cry, cutting Harry off, "one second." He said to Draco, digging a hand into Ian's diaper bag and pulling out a small bottle of juice, he mixed in a little of the potion Lily had given to him, and began to feed his son.

Draco watched on in silence. "It really is the Weasel's baby," He said absentmindedly, Harry only nodded. "What's his name?"

"Ian Roonil Sirius Dray Potter."

"Three middle names?"

"For three different people," Harry replied.

"Roonil?" Draco inquired.

"It's a bit of an inside joke, but it's for Ron, Ian's biological father. Sirius is obviously for my godfather, and Dray," Harry looked up at Draco, "is for you, who I had hoped would be another father to him."

As Ian continued to suck on his bottle Harry turned his eyes down to watch him. "I never meant to hurt you, Dray," He said silently, "I just thought that it would be for the best if we- if we parted ways. I guess I was looking out for myself. I guess I was running from my problems."

"Was I really a problem?"

Harry shook his head. "I thought that after you found out- after you found out it was Ron, you wouldn't want to be with me anymore. I thought that you-"

"You thought wrong," Draco said, putting his hand on Harry's chin and pulling him up to face him. "Do you really think me so shallow to stick with you through this much, and abandon you when you need me most? Do I really come off as that evil?"

Tears filled Harry's emerald eyes and he shook his head. "No. I just thought-"

"It doesn't matter what you thought, because you thought wrong." Draco wiped away the tears spilling down Harry's cheeks. "Come on Love, let's go home."

Who Says You Can't Go Home

He was nervous. The street in Muggle London outside the Leaky Cauldron was filled with the usual mid-day crowd; people rushing off to lunch dates, or to catch a quick nap, or to run a few errands. They all gravitated around him; going about their own lives while he remained completely isolated from it all. He was so nervous. He swallowed down the lump forming in his throat and tugged at the sleeves of his light sweater. He glanced around at the Muggles on the street, before turning back to face the building that none of them could see.

Harry hadn't been in the Wizarding World in four months. Now he was about to walk into the Leaky Cauldron, say hi to Tom the barkeep, tap his wand (which Draco had retrieved for him) on the back wall, and enter the streets of Diagon Alley. He was sure they were all going to stare. He was positive they were going to make a fuss. The Boy-Who-Lived-and-Disappeared returns after four months. That was sure to make the headlines. Harry tugged at the collar of his sweater, suddenly feeling very warm despite the chilly weather. He couldn't do this. He had to do this. He didn't want to do this. He needed to do this.

"Are we going to do this or what, Harry?"

Harry turned to the person standing next to him, and smiled shyly. He had forgotten Draco was with him. "Uh yeah." He blushed. "Let's go." He made to push the door open, but paused; he couldn't do this.

"No worries, Harry," Draco assured him, "I'm going to be right by your side the whole time."

"I still don't see why we can't just apparate to the Burrow." Harry grumbled.

Draco rolled his liquid Mercury eyes. "You said you need money from your Grignotts vault, remember? And besides, with the wards around the Burrow anyone who tries to apparate there will be in for a nasty surprise."

"And why couldn't bring Ian?" Harry asked more as a way to procrastinate than of actual worry about his son, he knew the baby was safe.

"Again, your own idea," Draco stated. "The little guy will be just fine with Lily. And she knows what to do in the worst case scenario."

Harry sighed; he really couldn't get out of this. It had been a month since he'd been reunited with Draco. The past four weeks had gone by too fast for Harry's taste, but they were some of the best weeks of his life. Draco had come to stay with him and Ian. He'd bought the baby a crib and helped take care of the things Harry hadn't been able to. Draco had become unashamedly attached to the baby boy, and Harry couldn't help but love them both with all his heart. The three of them together felt like the family that Harry had always wanted, with Lily popping in and out more often than not.

At night Harry and Draco would curl up in their bed, Ian had been moved to the other room down the hall now that he had a crib, and just lay there holding each other. Harry felt so safe in Draco's arms, he felt as if he could let himself drift off into anywhere and Draco would always keep him tethered down so that he could come back. Their moments together were filled with love and happiness.

But eventual it had been decided that Harry needed to return to the Wizarding World. Things were hectic without him and he had a certain duty to fulfill, not to the Wizarding World, but to his son. Ian deserved to live in a peaceful world without fear and it was Harry's job to bring that peace. After much discussion it was decided that Harry would leave his baby behind in Lily's care while he went off and fulfilled his obligations. The only one who would go with him would be Draco. The two of them would through to the Leaky Cauldron so that Harry could make a withdrawal from his Grignotts and then they would Floo to the Burrow. The point of the trip to Diagon Alley was more about making sure Harry was seen, than anything else; as many people as possible needed to know of his return so that hope was returned to them all.

The last night they stayed at Harry's house Lily had already taken Ian, so it was just Harry and Draco. Harry would never forget that night.

::-::-::

_The two of them lay in the bed, wrapped in each other's arms, Harry's head resting on Draco's chest as the blond absentmindedly played in his hair. A sense of dread and anticipation loomed before them as they both thought about what was to come the next day._

"_I'm scared," Harry said silently._

"_Don't be," Draco replied. "Nothing bad is going to happen to you; I won't allow it."_

_Harry nodded and snuggled closer into Draco's bare chest, after a few moments of silence Harry spoke again. "What am I going to say to Ron when I see him? Are things going to be different between us?"_

"_Don't know; that's between you and the weasel."_

"_It really wasn't his fault, he'd been under Imperious."_

"_I know."_

"_Does that mean I'm technically still a virgin?" Harry asked, his mind was trying to avoid the topic that needed to be discuss and kept coming up with questions like this. "I mean…isn't your first time suppose to be something special? And mine's was taken from me beyond my control. Him doing that doesn't count as me loosing my virginity does it?"_

"_I guess it doesn't, since it was taken from you by force. So yeah, you're still a virgin."_

_Harry nodded and silence returned and then, "Draco, I don't want to die a virgin."_

"_You're not going to die, Harry."_

"_You don't know that," Harry snapped, sitting up and glaring down at Draco. "You don't know what's going to happen when I go back there. I could walk through the door of the Leaky Cauldron and a whole gang of Death Eaters could be waiting to use Avada Kedavra on me. There's a Muggle saying that goes 'the only thing that's certain is that tomorrow's never certain'. For all you know I could go to sleep tonight and never wake up."_

_Draco set up and stared into Harry's emerald eyes. "What do you want from me, Harry?"_

"_I want you to kiss me, to touch me, to hold me, and make love to me. I want you to make me forget I was ever afraid." To both of their credits this was able to be said while holding a serious face and not blushing as red and Ian's hair._

_Draco's eyes remained locked with Harry's and then suddenly there was no distance between them. Their lips pressed hungrily against one another's, their hands roamed over needy flesh; touching; caressing; burning. Then Harry was lying on his back and Draco kissed down his collarbone and tweaked his nipples. Moments blurred and Harry felt a strange intrusion at his entrance. More time passed and what Harry came to know as three probing fingers were pulled out and replaced with something bigger. He held his breath and gripped tightly at the sheets, his green eyes fought to remain open. He was moaning and panting, begging for more. Fire was burning through his blood, igniting his whole body on fire. He cried out Draco's name as he exploded, and heard his name being screamed as warmth flooded his opening._

_They collapsed side by side on the bed, panting in the afterglow. Eventually they caught hold of their breath and silence filled the room until Harry spoke one final time, "Draco, I love you."_

::-::-::

The people of Diagon Alley were all staring and whispering, just as he knew they would. Harry tried to keep his head high as he and Draco walked the streets towards the bank. They made it without incident and Harry got what he wanted from his vault. Then they headed towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the twins' joke shop. This was where they would be Flooing from because it had securities other places in Diagon Alley lacked.

They were almost there when one brave soul decided to do more than just stare and whisper. A small, sick looking, woman threw herself in Harry's path and fell to her knees before him. "You've returned," she cried. "Thank Merlin you've returned. You have to help. They took my sons. The Death Eaters came and took my boys. You've got to help."

Harry looked down at the woman in shock, taking an involuntary step back and she groveled at his feet. "G-get up ma'am, there's no need for all of that," he said as politely as possible. "I-I'll do what I can for your sons, now please get up. Unlike Voldemort," the whole crowd winced at the name, "I do not like having people below me."

"I'll say," Draco mumbled.

Harry glared at him, shocked that the boy could be making sin'nuendos at a time like this, Malfoy smiled back innocently.

The woman got to her feet. "Oh thank you thank you. I knew you would come back. I knew you wouldn't abandon us." A man that must have been the woman's husband rushed forward and wrapped an arm around her, leading her back into the crowd. Once the couple was gone the rest of the crowd converged on Harry yelling and screaming things he couldn't quite hear due too all the racket they were making as a whole.

"Ok, ok clear the way, official escorts coming through." Two voices sounded above noise, the crowd parted and two familiar red heads came into view.

"Hiya Harry," Fred said, beaming from ear to ear.

"We are here to escort you," George was also beaming

"to the Burrow," Fred

"By orders of the," George

"Order of the Phoenix," Fred finished.

"Now let's hurry along now," George said

"Mom's been worried sick."

Harry smiled and followed the twins towards the Joke Shop. He grabbed Draco's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "No running now is there? I suppose I'm really going back."

Draco returned the squeeze on Harry's hand. "Harry, I want you to know, no matter what happens I love you."

For You I Will

The Burrow was filled with the sound of laughter and happiness as usual. It was overcrowded with members of both the Weasley Family and the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore had gotten Ron, Hermione, and Ginny out of their classes for the rest of the day and Flooed them over as well. Molly Weasley was acting as her usual self: cooking for everyone, stopping all the little quarrels that started, and making sure the twins weren't blowing up the house. Arthur set in deep conversation with Kingsley Shacklebot about some random topic or other pertaining to him being the bodyguard of the Muggle Prime Minister. Tonks was laughing loudly from her perch next to Lupin who was holding a conversation with Bill and Charlie Weasley. Moody set at the table sniffing suspiciously at the plate of food Molly had just given to him, before taking a hesitant bite. Dumbledore set back smiling at the scene before him. Meanwhile Hermione, Ginny, and Ron all occupied seats around Harry and Draco.

"So are you going to tell us where you've been these passed four months or not?" Ginny declared.

"I was in a town right outside of Muggle London," Harry answered honestly, squirming beneath the questioning glares he was receiving from Ginny and Hermione; Draco was looking off to the side somewhere, and Ron had yet to look at him at all.

"Why were you there?" Ginny continued her interrogation.

"I needed to get a way from the Wizarding World for a while. I figured it would be best or…" he trailed off.

"Why didn't you tell us you were going?"

"Because I knew you all would either try to stop me, or go with me. I wanted to be alone."

"You didn't seem to mind Malfoy's company." The accusing mumble came from Ron, who was now staring intently down at his hands as if regretting he had ever spoken.

"For the record, I didn't invite or tell Draco where I was going; he found me a month ago and just hung around ever since."

Ron looked at Harry as if he didn't believe him, before turning away and not speaking again. Unfortunately the red head's lack of a response was enough to set of Harry's famous temper.

"What, are you not going to inquire about your son?" He spat, his voice rising and causing everyone to turn to look at him. Ron looked at him as if he'd been struck. "Because he _is _yours." Harry rushed on as Ron opened and closed his mouth in an attempt to speak, "His name is Ian Roonil Sirius Dray Potter; he has you nose, your father's ears, and the Weasley red hair and freckles. He's four months old, and I had to leave him behind after raising him alone for three months and with the aid of Draco and another friend for the last one, because I didn't want to bring him here and put _you _in an awkward position."

No one in the room was speaking anymore; they were all staring at Ron, who had turned bright red and looked very uncomfortable, and Harry who didn't give a flying fuck that they were staring.

"I looked at my baby everyday and had to remember what you did to me. It hurt; I wanted to kill myself half the time, but I didn't want to leave Ian with no one the care for him. I could never hurt him like that. No matter how much I reminded myself that you had no control over your actions, I still couldn't help but resent you. You want to act all angry and scorned, trying to rebuke me for letting Draco near but not you. Well Dray and I may have been enemies at one point, but he never hurt me like you did."

Harry hadn't realized that he'd stood up from his seat, that he was trembling, or that there was tears threatening to escape his eyes until he felt warm arms wrap around him and calm his rampaging emotions.

::-::-::-::

The members of the Order of the Phoenix all set around the table in the kitchen of the Burrow. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had all been sent away and they had tried to send Draco away too, but Harry insisted that he stayed. The Order had long since gotten over their distrust for the Malfoy and agreed he could remain there. Apparently after Harry had ran away some revelations about the Slytherin Prince had been made. Dumbledore had informed the Order that Draco was on their side and that the Death Eaters wanted him dead due to his failing to kill Dumbledore during his sixth year. After forming a relationship with Harry he had given up on even trying to complete the order. Voldemort had murdered Draco's mother and maybe his father as well since the older Malfoy had gone missing from Azkaban when there had been a mass break out of Death Eaters from the prison. Draco had nowhere to go and thus had been living with the Weasleys ever since. And he had apparently been doing everything in his power to help the Order ever since as well.

"Have you been keeping up with the Daily Prophet since your departure from the Wizarding World, Harry?" Dumbledore started off the meeting by asking.

"Not as first no," Harry answered, "But a friend of mine brought me a lot of back issues about a month ago. Just before Draco found me."

"Is this the same friend that helped you with the baby?"

Harry nodded. "She's a medi-witch working at a Muggle clinic. I would rather not say anything else about her."

"Do you have pictures of the baby? I would love to see him?" Molly wanted to know.

"I have some; I can show you later, after the meeting."

Molly nodded, and Dumbledore resumed speaking, "As I'm sure you know, the state of the Wizarding World has been shaky at best. It is hard to foretell how this war will end, but we can predict that it will be ending soon. Both the Light and the Dark are weakening, neither will be able to continue for much longer. And unfortunately that is a very bad thing. We have reason to believe that Voldemort is planning a big attack soon. He wants one final battle that will either win the war for him, or end his life once and for all."

Harry looked at Dumbledore questioningly at the last statement. "Once and for all?" he asked hesitantly.

Dumbledore smile, his eyes twinkling. "If you're inquiring about the state of the Horcrux then I can happily say that the only one left is Nagini." He chuckled at Harry's look of surprise. "We have not been idle in you absence. Young Mister Malfoy over there actually played a very large role in the search for them."

Harry turned and looked at Draco questioningly.

A self-satisfied smirk spread across the boy's face, but there was a teasing look in his eyes. "Of course I played a role in destroying those things. You don't think I spent my time pining for your return, being depressed every minute you were away; such acts are beneath me."

"Is that so, cousin?" Tonks teased. "If memory serves you nearly tore the country apart searching for Harry and when you couldn't find him Molly couldn't get you out of your room for a week."

A blush spread across Draco's handsome face. "Tais-toi [shut up]." He hissed in French.

Tonks only continued to laugh. After a moment Dumbledore managed to regain control of the meeting. "As I was saying, we are expecting a big attack from Voldemort in the near future and when that time comes we will have to be ready. Harry you are to return to Hogwarts with your friends in the morning. If anyone asks where you have been it's up to you how much you reveal."

"What!" Harry asked in shock. "If we're expecting something big, shouldn't I be here with the Order?"

"We believe you will be safer at Hogwarts for the time being." Lupin said. "There are extra protections there like last year: at the very least Tonks and I will be there at all time, usually along with other Aurors and Order members. Unfortunately we were unable to fill the DADA position this year, so the younger students will need extra protection."

"We feel that this is the best option."

"But what about the final battle? What about the Prophecy? Only I can defeat him."

"Duly noted, Harry," Dumbledore said, no one in the room showed surprise at the mention of the Prophecy so Harry assumed they all knew about it. "There's reason to suspect that Voldemort will make his move on Hogwarts during the final battle; that will be the time at which the prophecy will be fulfilled. Until then, it is of the utmost importance that you continue your education." There was a note of finality in Dumbledore's voice and Harry knew he wouldn't be able to argue. Draco squeezed his had reassuringly.

::-::-::-::

"What do you think Ian is doing right now?"

"Considering the hour, he had better be sleeping or Lils is in trouble."

"He's never slept through the night if I didn't rock him."

"I'm sure Lils is perfectly capable of rocking him."

"It wouldn't be the same; he likes the sound of my heartbeat."

"I'm sure he'll be ok."

"Don't you think we should have put him and Lily under a fidelus charm? What if the Death Eaters find them and I'm not there to protect him?"

"You stayed in that town for four months and the Death Eaters never found you, I'm sure they're fine. You worry too much."

"I'm a parent; it's my job to worry."

Silence…

"I've never been away from Ian for so long. What if something happens to me and I can't go back for him?"

"That's not going to happen."

"The only thing that's certain is that tomorrow's never certain."

"If you die, I swear I'll take care of Ian. I'll make sure nothing ever happens to him."

"Promise me that he'll have a childhood that was much better than mine. Don't let anyone ever mistreat him like I was mistreated. Make sure he knows I loved him with all my heart, more than anything else."

"I promise."

::-::-::-::

The green flames of the Floo subsided and Harry stepped out into McGonagall's office. The Gryffindor head of house smiled. "Welcome back, Harry, you're just in time for breakfast in the Great Hall."

Harry nodded, before turning to his friends. "Ready to do this?"

They all nodded and Harry led the way out of the door and into the hall, he angled his way towards the Great Hall and began walking only to stop when he felt a grip on his wrist. "Ron?" The red head hadn't spoken a word to him since the night before.

"Can you guys go on ahead? I need to speak with Harry alone for a quick second?"

Ginny, Hermione, and Draco looked at Harry who nodded his ok, Draco gave Harry a quick kiss on the lips and the three departed.

"Ron?" Harry said after they'd been alone for a minute and the red head still hadn't spoken.

"I- uh, I just wanted to- um, apologize for, well you know what for. I never meant to hurt you; it really wasn't under my control. I'm sorry."

"It's ok," Harry replied, "I already forgave you a long time ago. But forgive me if I act strange around you; I'm still not fully comfortable about it yet."

Ron nodded. "So um- friends again?"

"We never stopped being friends, Ron?" Harry smiled.

"Right, so uh let's… let's…"

"Let's head to the Great Hall for breakfast; I'm starving and I'm sure you are too."

"Right." Ron nodded.

The two of them headed down the stairs towards where their friends we're waiting outside the Great Hall. Once they rejoined the group, the doors to the Hall pushed open and Harry was faced with the entirety of the Hogwarts student body.


	3. Chapters 7 through 9

The final three chapter installment of this tragic tale.

* * *

Temporary Home

The library was quiet as usual, with Madam Pince roaming the shelves constantly shushing the students in order to maintain that silence. Harry set at a secluded table in the back corner of the room with his face buried in a Defense Against the Dark Arts book. On the table in front of him was proof that he'd been there for a while, a sixteen inch long essay for Advance Transfiguration and a 12 inch long one for Advance Charms both lay there complete, as well as the start of the eighteen inch one due for Potions; he was waiting for Draco's arrival in order to complete that particular paper, unfortunately the Malfoy was still in his Arithmancy class at the moment.

It was nearing the two week mark since Harry had returned to Hogwarts and he was weighted down with back assignments from his long absence. Fortunately he and Draco had almost all their classes together so he, along with the help of Hermione and even Ron, had managed to get Harry caught up. Harry was glad for the extra help, being their seventh and final year all the classes were harder in order to get them ready for their NEWTS at the end of term. They had feared that Harry would never be able to catch up and would have to repeat the year, but Hermione had planned ahead for this and with her rigorous work schedule it had only taken a week of late nights and a weekend barricaded in the library to get him caught up. Now all he had to do was remain caught up. Not too hard a feat considering his schedule had a lot of free periods due to him dropping a class or two. Most of his free periods he shared with at least one of the others and was spent getting assignments done so as not to put them off until the last minute, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays he had a free period without anyone because both Hermione and Draco had Arithmancy and Ron had remedial Transfigurations with McGonagall. Harry usually spent the time as he was now: adding finishing touches to assignments and studying DADA since they had no teacher for the course that year.

Harry looked up from his book when he heard footsteps approaching his secluded table, he smiled when he saw Draco heading towards him; apparently classes were over. Harry had an additional free period and Draco was the only one who had it with him. This time was going to go to finishing the Potion's essay of course, but Harry still liked the one on one time with his love. It was a rare treat. True, Harry and Draco had been nearly inseparable since their return to Hogwarts, but they rarely had a moment alone. They were always with Ron or Hermione or some other student. Draco was Head Boy and had duties that took some of his time away from Harry. They were just getting into the swing of things and were still forming patterns so they didn't know when exactly they would be able to have their "secret" meetings again.

Draco gave Harry a quick peck on the lips as he took his seat at the table and pulling out his potions stuff. Without any hesitation the boys got to work.

::-::-::-::

"Harry we need to talk to you," Hermione said as she and Ron took seats across from Harry and Draco at the library table; Ginny was already seated in the chair on the other side of her.

"Actually I wanted to discuss something, too," Harry said, putting his quill down next to his now complete Charms assignment. It was Monday after lunch and the one period that all five of them had together. "I was considering restarting the DA," he said, the looks on Hermione's and Ron's faces were pure shock. "I mean, there's no Defense teacher this year and that's not exactly good. If Hogwarts is really going to be a fighting ground in the upcoming battle then the students need to know how to defend themselves. I don't really worry much about the older students, they've had at least one proper teacher, but a lot of the younger ones haven't and even the older ones can use more help."

Hermione and Ron continued to look at him in shock. "You guys don't have to be a part of it you don't want to," Harry said, "Draco already agreed to help, so if you're too busy…"

Suddenly Ron broke out laughing. "Actually mate, that's exactly what we came to talk to you about. We thought we would have a hard time convincing you, but that was easy."

Hermione smiled. "OK, let's work out how we're going to do this…"

::-::-::-::

Harry's third weak back at Hogwarts was drawing to an end, and everything was going great. He was doing well in classes, he practically lived with Draco in the Head Boy's dorm, they had the first DA meeting to be the next day, and there was no news about the war and as the Muggle saying goes 'no news is good news'. Things couldn't get better. Harry was happy and the people around him were happy and Draco was with him and they were happy. It was great.

It was Friday night and Draco had joined them at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall for dinner. Harry was rather enthusiastically eating his pudding and was getting it all over his face. Just as he was going in for another bite a pale hand pushed the dish away from him. "I think you've had enough, Harry." Draco stated.

Harry glared at him. "I was still eating that."

"Eating it, or using it for a facial?" The blond asked, taking a napkin and using it to wipe some of the food from Harry's face. Harry turned bright red. He mumbled a thank you and turned back to his food embarrassed.

Silence surrounded the two of them after that, until, "That's it, I can't take anymore of this, when's the wedding already?" Dean Thomas laughed.

If possible Harry turned an even deeper shade of scarlet as he looked up at his year mate. "What?"

"Oh come off it Potter," Seamus Finnegan said, "You two already practically live together and bicker like a married couple; when are you going to make it official and put a ring on it?"

Harry was speechless.

Draco sighed. "I had planned to properly propose to Harry at the end of the term, but seeing as you two are classless clowns I guess I have no choice but to do it now." Draco stood and knelt down on the ground turning the full force of his molten silver eyes on to the boy sitting in shock at the table; silence completely overtook the Great Hall like a wave crashing down around them. "Harry James Potter, I love you and I don't know why, but I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me? I have a ring but I left it up in my room seeing as how I wasn't planning on doing it like this."

Harry was doing a very good impression of a fish, but before he could find the words to reply a loud CRACK reverberated though the silent Hall. Draco was instantly on his feet, wand drawn, and standing protectively in front of Harry. Harry's shock dissipated in a second and he was also on his feet with his wand drawn, eyes fixed on the person who had just apparated into through Hogwarts' barriers and into the Great Hall.

"Harry Potter, sir," Dobby the house elf called out, running towards the two seventh years, carrying what looked to be a swaddling of cloth. "Harry Potter sir," he called again as he got closer Harry realized just what it was the house elf was carrying. His wand fell to the ground and he ran to Dobby.

"What happened?" he asked, kneeling before the elf and taking the baby he was carrying wrapped securely in blankets. "Is he hurt, where is Lily?" He pulled back the blankets and looked over his son. Ian was awake, his large green eyes staring at his father as the man examined every inch of the baby making sure he was unharmed; Harry sighed when he realized the baby was all in one piece. He held the small person close to him, kissing him on top of his bright red hair. "Where's Lily?" He asked again.

Draco had come and stood next to him by name, also looking over the child for harm, Hermione, Ginny, and Ron stood not to far away, the entire Great Hall was watching the scene.

"Mistress Lily called Dobby sir," the house elf said, "Bad people, Death Eaters, had come to the house and was banging on the door. Mistress Lily told Dobby to take Ian Potter, sir; somewhere he would be safe."

"And you brought him here?" Draco growled. "We told you what to do if something happened to Lily."

Dobby tennis ball sized eyes widened even further. "Dobby knows sir, but Mistress Lily said to take Ian Potter, sir somewhere he would be safe. He wouldn't have been safe in the house with those horrible Muggles. Dobby is sorry for not following orders, Dobby will punish himself now."

The house elf made a run the Gryffindor table and grabbed a knife. "No," Harry yelled, "Dobby, I forbid you to punish yourself. You didn't do anything wrong, you did what you thought was best for Ian. But do you know what happened to Lily?"

Before Dobby could reply, a silver streak ran into the Great Hall and stopped at Harry's feet, it was a fox shaped Patronus, Lily's. The fox opened its mouth and Lily's musical voice came out of it, "Harry, bad news. Death Eaters came to the house, I told Dobby to take Ian. I'm ok, but I don't know what the elf did with your son, hopefully he followed the orders given to him, but you never know with these freed elves. Anyway I'll be arriving at Hogwarts tomorrow, tell Dumbledore to be expecting me." Message complete, the Patronus vanished.

Harry released the breath he hadn't known he was holding and would have collapsed from his relief if Draco hadn't been there to hold him stable. "She's ok," Harry said in an airy relieved tone. "My son is ok and Lily is ok." He continued looking down at the baby in his arms.

"Harry," Hermione said softly.

Harry looked up at his friend, tears in his emerald eyes. "I- I'd thought the worst." His voice shook, "Dobby wasn't supposed to come here unless one of them was dead. He was supposed to take Ian to the Dursley's if anything was happened to Lily. He was only supposed to come here to tell me if Lily or- he was only supposed to come to tell me if Lily was dead, or if my son was dead. When I saw him holding- I thought my baby was dead, I thought he was dead." Harry was sobbing, holding on to Ian for all dear life; he'd been terrified that the worst possible thing had happened.

"Hush, hush Harry," Draco whispered, "Its ok, let's go somewhere private. Hush, hush stop those tears." Draco wrapped an arm around Harry and began leading him towards the door of the Great Hall. The students and teachers all stared at them as they made their way. Harry stopped before they left the hall.

"Draco," he called out to his boyfriend, "the answer is yes. I will marry you."

The Great Hall exploded into applause as the doors swung closed behind them.

::-::-::-::

Harry woke to a sound he hadn't heard in just over three weeks, and surprisingly the baby cries didn't bother him at all. Most of the previous night had been spent in the Headmaster's office getting things sorted out. It had been decided that Harry would officially move into the Head Boy's room with Draco and Ian would stay with them there. During the day, when the two of them had classes, the baby would be watched by various members of the staff and Tonks, who had also insisted on being put on baby duty (practice for when she and Lupin had their first child). It was up to Harry as to rather he wanted to bring Ian to meals in the Great Hall or eat privately in his and Draco's rooms. When Lily arrived she would be assigned primary caretaker for Ian when the rest of the staff was unavailable; she would also be employed as Madam Pomfrey's aide in the Hospital Wing.

Harry rolled out of the bed and made his way over to the ornate crib that McGonagall had transfigured for them, and pick up his son. "Good morning little fire ball," he said to the child. "Let's get you out of here, before you wake up your soon to be step-father over there."

"Too late," a tired voice grumbled from the bed.

Harry smiled at Draco. "Good morning," he said. Draco just glared at him as he tried to wake himself up; he'd never been much of a morning person. Harry chuckled and turned back to his son. "Let's get you ready for the day, shall we," he said, carrying the baby out of the bed room and to the bath. "Let's get you all fresh and clean and we can have Dobby bring you a bottle in the Great Hall."

Fifteen minutes later, he was setting a freshly bathed, pampered, and clothed Ian back down in his crib so he could get himself ready for the day,."Are you awake yet, Dray?" he asked, the other boy was still sitting on the bed with an expression that said he was angry at the world in general and was going to hex whoever the nimrod who invented mornings into the middle of next week.

Draco sighed. "I can't say I missed the baby wake up calls, but I guess I'll get used to it." He stood up and stretched his long toned limbs, his platinum blond hair falling back and reflecting the light like a halo around his head. Harry loved Draco's hair in the morning, when it was nice and soft before the Slytherin had the chance to slick it back. "I'm going to shower." He stated before turning to Harry. "Care to join me, fiancé?" Harry grinned before checking Ian one last time, and following his future husband to the bathroom.

Forty-five minutes later they were back in the bedroom getting dressed when they heard a knock on the portrait hole door. "I'll get it," Harry said, since Draco was still in the middle of his grooming routine. "Who is it?"

"Your mom, open the door," A musical sounding female voice called.

A large grin spread across Harry's face as he flung the portrait hole open. "Lily!" He screamed wrapping his hands around the older girl. "You're really alright; I was so worried."

"Of course I'm alright, what do you think I'm some weak little Hufflepuff? I have you know my mother always bragged I had the mind of a Ravenclaw, but dad always complained that my heart was Gryffindor. I shut them both up right quick when I followed in dad's footsteps and got sorted into Slytherin."

"And an infamous Slytherin you were," drawled a voice from further in the rooms. "She had graduated before our first year here, but everyone knew about Lily Nightly, the Slytherin who cared."

"Look whose talking; congrats on the engagement." The two Slytherins glared at each other, before what could pass for a small smile spread across Draco's handsome face.

"I'm glad you're ok. Now can we get a move on to the Great hall, I'm starving."

Harry and Lily chuckled as Harry went to get Ian and Lily grabbed the diaper bag by the door. They made their way to the Great Hall in high spirits and all headed towards the Gryffindor table to be greeted rather energetically by Ginny and Hermione, both of which were eager to begin cooing over the baby, while Ron set back looking rather uncomfortable.

"Guys this is my friend Lily; she's a medi-witch that until recently worked at a Muggle clinic. She helped me out a bit when I was away. And this little guy is Ian." He held his son for them to see and Ginny and Hermione both let out a loud squeal, so did a few other girls sitting at the table. Harry had just set down when a bottle appeared on the table in front of him. He smiled and adjusted his hold on Ian to feed the baby. Lily and Draco set down, Draco grumbling something about annoying Gryffindors as Harry was surrounded by females wanting to see the baby, they engaged each other in conversation.

Eventual the hype about the baby died down to a dull roar and Harry finished feeding Ian and handed him to Lily to burp while he started in on his own breakfast. As he ate he realized how silent Ron was being and wondered why. Once Lily handed him Ian back, he turned to his best friend. "Ron," he said causing the red head to look up at him shyly, "would you like to hold your son?"

Ron eyes widened in shock and he could only nod. Harry smiled and helped him hold the nearly five month old infant. "Watch his head," he warned and Ron nodded, not taking his eyes off the small person in his arms.

Ron ran his fingers gently across Ian's red hair and stared into his emerald eyes. "He's really- he's really mine." Harry smiled and nodded and Ron turned back to the baby and cooed in a small voice, "Hello little Ian, I'm Ron, it's very nice to meet you." Ian cooed and giggled and everyone could only smile at the beautiful sight of father and son.

::-::-::-::

Later that evening the first DA meeting of the year started in the Room of Requirement. "Hello everyone," Harry said from his spot in the front of room, Draco and Lily standing at his left, Hermione and Ron on his right, "Welcome to the first DA meeting to the year. I'm not going to go into so long speech about how important it is to protect ourselves in these times of war, because we all know that. I'm simple going to say thank you for coming. You know why you're here and you know why you're important.

"This year is going to go a bit differently from the previous DA," Harry continued. "First off, we're not going to only teach DADA, we will also have lessons in Occlumancy and Legilimancy, Draco is going to be in charge of that because he's the best in our age group. Also I'd like to introduce you all to Lily Nightly, she graduated Hogwarts eight years ago and his now back employed as Madame Pomfrey's aide. She's going to be teaching us all some useful healing charms and the like. We will also be taught proper dueling techniques by Snape later in the year. The biggest difference this year is that the lessons go beyond just this room. The DA is recognized as an official club at Hogwarts this year, Lily will act as our staff sponsor, and because of this DA members will randomly be put to challenges by other staff members. You are expected to be on guard and ready for attack at any moment. I'm not saying to walk around paranoid all the time, but you should be able to sense or at the very lease respond to danger. Teachers have right to send hexes or jinxes at any DA member at any given moment of the day to see how they react to the danger.

"That said, let's get started, shall we. I'm going to split you all into three groups, Defense, Occulmancy, and Medical training. Your group members today will be your members for the remainder of the time you are in the DA, what you are taught will rotate by meeting…"

::-::-::-::

It was early in the morning and Harry was at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Ian was asleep in his arms, and he had left Draco behind in their room. The morning was peaceful and all was calm. The hour was so early nearly everyone in the Tower was still sleeping. Harry had woken suddenly with the urge to be outside; he had taken Ian with him up to the Tower for the sole reason of not wanting to be away from his son. For the past few days Harry had, for some reason, been on edge. He didn't understand why, but he felt something big was going to happen soon. As he stood at the top of the highest point in Hogwarts looking out over the silent grounds before him a sense of dread filled him, he knew this was only the silence before the storm.

Harry looked down at his sleeping son and kissed the top of his fire red hair. For some reason he felt as if he was saying goodbye.

Glitter in the Air

Time passed quickly. Everyone settled into comfortable patterns of classes, homework, DA, and personal time. Harry and Draco spent a lot of time together with Ian. Ron had grown much attached to his son, but still wasn't too fond of Draco and thus wasn't around as often. Hermione, Ginny, and half the other girls in the school all adored the baby and loved to be around him. Even Snape seemed to like to little infant, though he would never admit to it. Lily was kept busy with helping Madam Pomfrey, watching Ian, teaching DA, and occasional helping out in other classes, mainly Transfiguration she was a natural at it and kept the class entertained with her ever growing feud with McGonagall (apparently the two of them weren't exactly the best of friend when Lils was a student). Everything at the school seemed to be going fine.

Every Sunday night after dinner the Gryffindor Trio, along with Draco and Lily, met up at McGonagall's office to Floo over to the Burrow (the new HQ for the Order). Harry, Draco and Lily would sit through the Order meetings while Hermione and Ron went upstairs to play with Ian. (Molly adored Ian and doted on the babe as if he was her on, she was so excited to see her first grandchild.) Not much progress was being made with the war. Despite the exceptional spying abilities of Severus Snape, they could not figure out what Voldemort was up to. He was constantly sending Death Eaters out on apparently pointless tasks and would disappear for days at a time. The Dark Lord refused to share his plans with anyone including Snape, but the Potions Master had gathered that Hogwarts would be in danger in the near future. They could only speculate as to when.

While all of this was going Harry had a growing sense of unease. He felt that something big was going to happen soon, but he had no clue as to what. Things were changing around him. He began to spend as much time as possible with his son and Draco. He felt the need to constantly be with people who loved him and that he loved in turn. He made an effort to be close with Ron and Hermione as well, feeling that his time left with them was short, but the more Harry pushed for closeness, the more they (Ron especially) seemed to drift away.

::-::-::-::

It was an early Saturday morning at Hogwarts. A large crowd of students were gathered outside the school near the Quidditch pitch. A feeling of anticipation hung in the air as they all seemed to be waiting for something. Finally the guests of honor arrived. Harry, Draco, and Lily stepped in front of the crowd, immediately silencing the eager voices of the students.

"Ok," Harry said once he'd gain the attention of the crowd, "I'm sure you're all ready to get started with today's big event, but there are some things that must be explained before we can begin. First, I must remind you that this is a friendly practice battle, I'm not saying go easy on your opponents, but no serious maiming blows are allowed or face the consequences that is our Staff Person in Charge, Professor Snape. Second, I'm sure you all want to pick you sides and work together with your friends, but the groups have been chosen ahead of time. The picture on your invitation determines what group you're in: I'm leading Group Phoenix, Draco is in charge of Group Crow, and Lily takes charge of Group Dove. Group Dove will be a specialized group dedicated to healing and taking care of the wounded, while Phoenix and Crow are the primary fighting units. Once all the rules have been discussed Group Phoenix will regroup with me by the lake and Group Crow will follow Draco to the Quidditch changing rooms, Group Dove will stay here."

Harry spent the next five minutes going over the guidelines for the squabble that had been planned. After nearly a month of DA meetings Harry had asked Dumbledore for permission to stage a faux scrimmage between the club to test their abilities in real battle situations. The Headmaster had given his consent to the scrimmage after appointing Professor Snape to over see the event. Harry had sent out invitations to meet at the Quidditch pitch, only giving the bare minimal of details regarding what was to happen. The DA had gotten overly excited, seeing as how this was the first time they got to test what they'd learned on such a large scale.

After the opening speech was made, Harry led his group over to the lake and began splitting them smaller groups and assigning roles. Once everything was ready he sent up green sparks with his wand and received the answering sparks from Draco and Lily. That was the cue for the battle to begin. Harry signaled to Hermione to lead her section ahead. The object of the game was to stun the other team's leader. Harry had split the Phoenix into three smaller groups: the Tigers, Lynxes, and Wolves. Hermione in charge of the Lynxes and they were the forward moving/front-line group. Composed of the quickest moving and thinking members, their objective was to go out into battle and take out as many opponents in the first blow as they could, take the others by surprise and hopefully wipe out their entire front line. Harry led the Tigers. Their prime objective was defensive spells. They surrounded Harry and kept others from approaching him. Blaise Zabini led the Wolves. They were the rear guard, in charge making sure that no one attacked them from behind, and if the Lynxes and Tigers fell, they moved to the front lines, and defensive roles. Ron had been put in Group Crow, mostly because Harry couldn't handle how distant Ron was acting towards him, and also it had been kind of a sign of goodwill between the Phoenixes and Crows, Ron in exchange for Blaise.

By the time the Tigers and Wolves reached the designated battlefield, the Lynxes had already wiped out a a large amount of Draco's men and all Hell was breaking loose. Group Phoenix were all wearing burnt orange armbands in order to be distinguished from the Crows with their black armbands, and the neutral party Doves with their white armbands. Everywhere Harry looked he saw students in orange bands facing off with students in black bands, while students in white bands dodged around administering counter curses and jinxes to those who were hit, and if the counter couldn't be used right away, dragging the felled students from the field.

Harry could see Draco in the midst of his Crows, smirking as he shot a tripping jinx at a Phoenix that was trying to sneak up on him. He seemed to be standing alone, but Harry could tell by how certain few Crows moved around him he had a personal guard blending in with the rest of the fighters. Harry whistled to his Tigers, the sign that he was going to make a move on the enemy leader. He was immediately flocked by his guard and they delved into enemy territory, which was a sign for the Wolves to join the main fighting force.

Harry was surprised by how few curses and jinxes came his way as he made his move towards Draco and the ones that did was quickly deflected by one of his men. Soon Harry was in the Heart of Crow territory, standing face to face with Draco. The Malfoy smirked. "Bout time you got here, Potter. I gave my men orders to let you pass unharmed, but I thought you would never make your move."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Whatever, can we just get on with this." Draco said nothing, instead he raised his wand and a silent stunning spell shot towards Harry. Harry counter with a shielding charm, but before the battle could progress any farther a loud crashing sound was heard over the noise of the faux battle.

::-::-::-::

_Harry laid back on the bed, Draco hovering above him, kissing down his jaw line and over his bare chest. A low moan escaped Harry's lips as a warm tongue flicked over his left nipple. Soft but strong hands ran down his abdomen, caressing him gently and leaving a burning path like fire. Harry was melting beneath Draco's loving ministrations. He wrapped his arms around the blond's shoulder and nodded his consent for the other to slip inside his already prepared entrance. As Draco slipped deeper into him, a long low moan escaped Harry's kiss bruised lips. Draco slowly began to thrust in and out of him and Harry held on to him tighter, never wanting to let him go. Draco nuzzled the side of his lover's neck, nipping and sucking marking the boy as his own and Harry happily returned the favor. As Draco continued to move, pushing them both closer and closer to their climax, tears began to spill from the corner of Harry's eyes. He wondered why this too felt like good-bye._

::-::-::-::

Death Eaters were attacking Hogwarts. The barriers around the school had fallen, and the cloaked and masked figures moved in on the school, attacking at random. Teachers ran around trying to gain control of the students and herd them back into the school. Some students ran screaming away from the Dark Lord's minions, others (mostly DA members) stood and tried to fight back. Someone had grabbed Harry's arm and began running, trying to drag him away from the chaos. Harry paid no mind to this, all he could think was "this is it, it's finally come".

Eventually Harry yanked his arm away from the person who had grabbed him. He turned back and rushed back into the midst of the battle. Letting out three loud whistles and sending a spray of orange sparks with his wand, he summoned the DA to him. Not far from him he heard a responding three whistles and silver sparks shot into the air, Lily was summoning members to her. Another three whistles and blue sparks signaled Draco was calling members to him as well. The DA had been trained to look for the signals and gravitate towards the closest DA leader in the case of a real battle like this. The three leaders would be spread out across the field making it so that the students could always reach at least one of them. Harry was surprised how all of them managed to keep their cool in this state of panic, not long after he'd sent up his sparks, a group of about fifteen student divulged on him. Harry had to keep calm. This was it. This was the moment they had all been waiting for.

"Are you all ready?" Harry asked his group of loyal students. There was a chorus of yeses. "This isn't a game anymore," Harry warned, "This is a real battle, with real Death Eaters. They're not going to go easy on you. You will be hurt and, Merlin forbid it so, some of you may even die. If you want to go back to the safety of the castle do it now. If not, then let's get out there and give it our all." Harry looked at the faces of the students surrounding him, they were all so young some even first years, but they all looked so determined, they'd been training for this. When none of them left to go towards the castle Harry gave a reluctant nod. "Merlin watch over us all." He gave another three whistles and shot up another burst of orange sparks. Six whistles and a spray of silver and blue sparks was his response. "Let's do this." The students all entered the battle.

::-::-::-::

_It was late at night and Harry and Draco were seated at the top of the Astronomy Tower. Draco had his back leaning against the wall, and Harry's head was lying against the blond's chest. Above them, the sky was a portrait of stars and constellations. The night was silent, and they were at peace._

_Harry sighed. "Draco, how did we get here?"_

_Draco looked at him, not understanding the sudden question. "We took the stairs," he replied._

"_No, I didn't mean how we got up here physically. I meant, how did we get here, like this, where we are and how we are now?"_

_Draco thought about this. "We took the stairs," he said again. "We took the long way around getting to them, but we've been climbing the stairs since the very beginning and we're still on the stairs now. We never saw that there was a lift right around the bend."_

::-::-::-::

Harry was detached from himself, floating above the battle field, watching from a distance. Below him, his body battled on, shooting curses and jinxes every which way; fighting; defending; protecting.

Around him others fought, each with their own goals in mind. All Harry wanted to do was get this over with. End it all once and for all. So he fought; he defended; he protected. His opponents fell left and right, taking some of his allies with them. The DA members still standing around him gave their all to keep him safe, if only until he reached the Dark Lord. It was like the morning's scrimmage all over again, cutting through enemy territory towards the opposing team's leader. But two things were different this time. One, when he got to Voldemort there would be more waiting for him than his boyfriend and a simple stunning spell, the green lights of the Killing Curse lit the field all around him. And the second difference, the reason he was making it across the field without being harmed wasn't because his safety had been ordered, but because others stood in the way of the attacks coming at him; he thought he'd fall apart if he watched another DA member fall.

Through the noise of battle he heard two whistles and saw a shower of silver sparks; Lily was checking positions. Harry whistled twice in reply and sent up his orange sparks. He heard two more whistles and saw blue sparks not far from him. Draco's team was the closest to them. That meant those two teams would try to meet up and Lily would pull her team back out of the battle. They wanted to minimize as many student casualties as possible after all.

Harry kept his team moving, ahead of him he could see the vile form of Voldemort floating above the field.

::-::-::-::

"_Draco, if anything happens to me, you will take care of Ian right?"_

"_I already promised I would."_

"_You'll love him right, as if he was your own son, and never let anything hurt him?"_

"_Harry, as far as I am concerned, Ian is my own son. I love him as much as you do, and to hurt him would be to rip my heart out and feed in to Nagini."_

_Harry nodded and snuggled closer to his love. "I was thinking that I want Ron to be a part of his life. I want Ian to know that Ron is his father by blood, even if you're the one he gives that title to."_

"_I'll see, Harry. No promises."_

::-::-::-::

One long whistle resonated through the air causing Harry to look up instantly to see who sent it. A spray of silver sparks, followed by a shower of red ones. Lily had fallen. The only good thing that Harry could grasp from that was that the following sparks were red not green. Red meant down, out of the fight, green meant dead.

Two whistles and blue sparks; Draco wanted to know where he was. He responded with his two whistles and orange sparks. They were getting closer together, but still pretty far apart. A Death Eater materialized in front of Harry, a flash of red light came his way. Harry defended with a shielding charm, and then cast a full body bind. The Death Eater fell and Harry moved on. He could see Voldemort through the crowd, not too far from him. This was all going to be over soon.

::-::-::-::

"_Draco, why do you think people tell lies?"_

_Draco shrugged. "A way to avoid things, I suppose."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Sometimes the truth doesn't always have good results. Sometimes it can cause a conflict. Sometimes it can hurt more than anything else ever could. To tell a lie is to protect oneself, and perhaps others, from unsavory results. It's almost a defense mechanism."_

"_What about when the lies hurt more than the truth?"_

"_Maybe the lies are avoiding a much more painful truth than they look like."_

"_Are you saying it's ok to lie?"_

"_You didn't ask me if it was ok, you just asked why people do it."_

"_Now I'm asking if it's ok."_

"_I suppose it is, if you're doing so to protect someone you love."_

_Silence, then, "Draco, if I asked if you've ever lied to me since we got together, would I want to know the answer?"_

"_I don't think you would."_

_Harry nodded. "What were you trying to protect me from?"_

"_I wanted to protect you from yourself."_

::-::-::-::

A single whistle resonated across the battlefield. The Death Eaters all stopped what they were doing, and then, seemingly as one, they vanished from the battlefield. Students, teachers, Aurors, and Order members stood confused on the field, around them laid the fallen bodies of both allies and enemies.

It was over. Voldemort was dead. The war was over.

Silence reigned most powerful. Until a pained scream escaped one of the student's mouths and he sprinted across the field, disregarding his own physical casualties in his hurry to reach what was most important.

The dying glare of orange sparks followed by green ones reflected in Draco's silver eyes.

::-::-::-::

"_Draco, is there really a lift right around the bend?"_

"_I don't know Harry, and it's too late to find out. We're too far up the stairs to turn around now and look for an easier way."_

"_What do you think is at the top of the stairs?"_

"_We won't find out until we get there."_

"_If only I could know what's at the top right now, I think then I will be able to die happy."_

::-::-::-::

The only sound that could be heard was the sobbing of those unable to control themselves. No one wanted to speak, but the tears flowed freely. Even the ones too young to know what was going on was crying. Ian had not stopped wailing since he'd woken up that morning.

The two people standing before the coffin were completely silent. Neither even had a tear in their eye. The boy before them looked as if he was sleeping. His eyes closed and face relaxed, a tiny smile tweaking the corners of his lips. The girl wrapped her café au lait colored arm around the other's waist, he turned and looked at her then looked away.

Footsteps approached them from behind, stopping about two feet away, "Draco I just wanted to say-"

"You were never under the Imperious curse, we're you Weasel?" Draco cut in.

Ron's eyes widened, then softened and shook his head. "No, I wasn't"

"Why did you do it?"

Ron opened and closed his mouth, but couldn't find the words to say.

"Harry knew," Draco said softly, "He could never figure out why you would do it. But he knew. He was just so deep in denial; one would think we lived in Egypt."

"I just wanted him to love me. I knew he never would, from the beginning it had always been you he wanted. I just wanted him to love me."

"You never did forgive him for choosing me, did you?"

Ron shook his head slowly. "No I didn't?"

Draco looked back at the body lying in the coffin. "Are you happy now?" He asked Ron, "Now he's neither of ours. Isn't that what you wanted? Isn't that's why you turned your wand against him?"

Ron's eyes widened at the last question, but before he could reply Draco made as to grab him. "I'll kill you!" The blond yelled, his stardust eyes mad with grief. Lily held him back from attacking the red head, but he still put up a decent struggle. "I'll kill you. You took him away from me. You took him away from his son, your son,Weasel. I'll kill you!"

"Shh, Draco, calm down." Lily tried to soothe the boy. "Now is not the time for this. Now is the time for remembering Harry."

Tears rolled down Draco's cheeks as he stopped struggling against the arms holding him back. "I'll kill him, Lils, I swear I will."

::-::-::-::

"_Draco, what do you think Ron is trying to protect me from when he lies to me?"_

_Draco didn't speak for a moment. "Nothing," he finally said. "The Weasel is just looking out for himself."_

Epilogue: How Soon is Now

"Are you ready to go, Ian?"

The red head twelve year old looked up with his big green eyes and smiled. "Yes Father."

"Then let's get going."

"Yes Father," Ian said again, grabbing the handle of his trunk and dragging it out the room. His father smiled and with a wave of his wand vanished the trunk to the back of the car. Ian's smile grew; he loved when his father used magic to make things easier for him. "Is Aunty Lily coming?" He asked.

"She's meeting us at the Train Station, so we better hurry if you want talk to her before you go."

Ian nodded and rushed for the door, only to pause and turn around. "One sec." he declared rushing back into the room and stopping before a small end table that held crystal picture frame. "Bye dad," he said, "I'll see you over Yule." The twelve year old placed a quick kiss on the glass, before rushing pass his father and out the door.

Draco smiled, his silver eyes locking on the green ones staring at him from behind the glass frame. "Bye Harry," he said simply, before flicking off the light and following his son out.

::-::-::-::

"_Aunty Lily!" Ian screamed, running towards his 'aunt' on platform nine and three quarters. The medi-witched smiled and gathered the over excited child into her arms._

"_How are ya, Ian? Nervous?"_

"_Nope," The hyperactive eleven year old declared. "I can't wait to get to Hogwarts. I'm going to get sorted into Gryffindor and go on tons of adventures. I'm going to learn a lot and be the strongest wizard in history."_

"_You're sounding a bit Slytherin to me." Lily chuckled._

"_Nun-uhn, I'm going to be a Gryffindor just like dad, though I wouldn't mind being a Slytherin like you and Father."_

"_You know, your dad was suppose to be a Slytherin, but he asked to be put in Gryffindor," Draco said._

_Ian's emerald eyes widened in surprise. "Really? You never told me that before! Great, now if I'm put in Slytherin I can still be like dad and make you happy."_

_Draco looked surprised. "Ian," he said softly, "You know you don't have to be like your dad to make me happy. I love you just the way you are."_

_Ian nodded. "I know, Father," he said, "But I was hoping if I could be more like dad, you wouldn't miss him as much and then you wouldn't cry at night."_

::-::-::-::

The whistle of the Hogwarts Express blew and the train began to pull out of the station. The second year Ian Sirius Potter-Malfoy made his way through the carts of the train, looking for somewhere to sit, he slid the door open to one of the cabins and saw two red head children that he didn't recognize, they must have been first years. One was girl, with a really short haircut wearing jeans and a tee-shirt, she actually looked a bit tomboyish and the only thing defining her gender was two star shaped hair clips pinning back her bangs. The boy next to her must have been her twin, his haircut was only a bit shorter than hers and he also wore jeans and a tee-shirt.

Ian paused outside the cabin, the boy look at him and smiled. "Hullo," he said shyly, "I'm Rodney and this is my sister Rose. You can sit in here if you like."

"You're Weasleys." Ian stated. "Father said all Weasley's have red hair, freckles, more kids then they can handle, and can only be trusted as far as you can throw them without a wand."

The girl, Rose, eyes narrowed. "Then that must mean you're a Weasley, too." She said, "You have red hair and freckles."

Ian nodded. "Father said my biological father was a Weasley, but I never met him because Father said he's the one who took my dad away."


End file.
